Darkness and Light
by DarkUnderworld
Summary: *Sequel to With Death We Met* Raphael was determined to get revenge and find his goddess, even if he had to go to Hell and back to do it,literally. But Raphael finds that the Afterlife is different from anything he could ever have imagined.rated M. R&R!
1. Chapter 1

Alrighty everyone, this is the sequal to **With Death We met. **I would recomend reading it before this one otherwise nothing will make sense.

A/N still don't own TMNT or any of its characters, but all other characters are mine.

I hope you enjoy! Please read and review!

* * *

**Darkness and Light**

**Chapter 1**

Master Splinter looked at him. He had thought that he had been quiet enough, but obviously not.

"The path you seek is not an honourable one my son." Master Splinter said to him.

"I don't care Master. It is the only thing I have left." He said anger and despair in his voice.

"Revenge will not heal what has been broken. She gave you your life back my son, do not waste it. And think about your brothers, they need you."

"I don't have a choice Master, it is who I am. My brothers, they don't need me. I was never any help to them anyway. I was always the one who made things worse. Goodbye Master...Father." Raphael turned and walked away from everything he had ever known.

* * *

**5 years later...**

Raphael looked at the entrance to the lair. It was abandoned. He could tell just by looking at it. His trench coat swirled around him. He walked in anyway, not expecting anything but old memories. Dust covered everything and the very air felt stale, and yet even after all of these years he could still smell Her. It looked like his brothers had left almost everything they had owned. A few personal belongings, but most of the furniture was still present. Donatello's workroom had been cleared out, the kitchen empty, his brother's rooms cleared of some of their possessions. His room had been left untouched. He looked at everything he owned and felt nothing for any of it. He turned and walked out of his room.

He was about to leave when something caught his eye. He walked over to the coffee table. There sitting in the centre was the photo album delivered by the goddesses. He was surprised that his brothers had left this here. He sat down on the dusty couch and touched the leather binding. Dust covered his fingers. He stood leaving the album unopened.

He turned as he felt a presence behind him. "Hello Leo." He said to his brother as he emerged from the shadows.

"Raph." Leonardo replied. Leonardo stood with his arms folded. He was wearing his trench coat, but his mask was gone. Raphael had wondered how this meeting was going to go. The night She died, he left. He took two photos from the album and left with nothing but the clothes on his back and Her bow. Her armour and swords were gone, reclaimed by the goddesses he supposed.

He had to train, to learn, to get better. He had a few more scars, but knew more than when he left. He gave no thought to his brothers, nothing had mattered but the need that consumed him.

"Master Splinter is..." Leonardo began.

"I know Leo. The Ancient One found me, the old one, not the new one. I visited Master Splinter's grave in Japan. He was buried beside Master Yoshi."

Leonardo nodded. Leonardo didn't seem to know whether to be glad he was back, or angry with him for leaving. "You Left." Leonardo said.

"Yeah. I did."

"We needed you Raph." Leonardo said voice low, a slow anger leaking into it.

"You guys didn't need me. You guys never needed me." He said to his older brother.

"Yes we did Raph." Leonardo growled. "You have no idea what it has been like, how broken our family has become."

"Leo..." Raphael began.

"No Raph. It was bad before Master Splinter died, it was even worse after. Donny and Mikey," He shook his head. "You have no idea how bad they have been, especially Donny." He whispered.

"I'm sure Donny will be fine." Raphael said, unconcerned by his brother's worry.

"Yeah, because you are such an expert on him since you've been gone." Leonardo growled.

Raphael turned to leave. He was tired of hearing his brother's accusations.

"He cuts himself Raph." Leonardo said softly, anger draining from his voice.

Raphael turned and looked at his brother in shock. "Donny, no way Donny would never..." He began but was cut off by Leonardo.

"No, Donny is the logical one, the one who hates fighting and violence, the one who broke when she died because he blames himself. He thinks if he could have figured things out sooner, somehow he could have changed things. It doesn't matter that there was no way any of us could have done anything." He sat down on the couch. "I think maybe he got addicted to Her bite." He whispered. "I'm not sure, I can't talk to him. He has shut me out. The only one he talks to is Mikey and even Mikey hasn't been able to get through to him. She broke all of us." Leonardo whispered, then shook his head and stood."Are you staying or are you leaving?" Leonardo finally asked.

Raphael hesitated. He really didn't know why he was back. He had travelled the world gathering information, fighting, getting better, then he felt the need to go home. He visited Her grave first. He had placed white Heather and his red mask on the headstone that marked where Her body lay, but her soul, her soul was somewhere else.

"I don't know." He said truthfully. He didn't think he was going to stay, but if Donatello was really that bad...

"Well are you going to at least see Donny and Mikey?" He asked.

"Maybe." He was non-committal."So Leo a school." He said awkwardly.

"Yeah." Leo said not giving him anything. He didn't know where Donatello and Michelangelo were but he knew Leonardo had opened a martial arts school for anyone who wanted to learn. Usually his students were members of the 'Underground' population. Creatures who were either like them, genetically mutated, or else magically inclined. Some of Her magical creatures had come out of hiding, a few werewolves, a vampire or two. The creatures who could blend in with human society but still felt that they were 'other'. A few humans made it there too, humans who ended up snagged into the world of the Underground.

"She's pretty Leo." Raphael said to him.

Leonardo looked at him in surprise, then nodded. "You aren't angry?" He asked.

"Why would I be angry Leo?" He asked curiously.

"I had just thought..." He began.

"She's dead Leo, She only ever wanted us to be happy. If you have found someone to be happy with, She would be happy for you." Raphael said reasonably.

Leonardo turned his head to the side. "There isn't anything going on between us." He said finally.

"But..." Raphael began.

"I know, she is interested, and I tried, but," He shook his head. "She was only with us for two months, and I have grieved for Her for over five years. But I can't move on Raph. Maybe I need more time, I don't know, but I just can't." Leonardo looked at him. Raphael was silent. "How about you Raph?"

Raphael pulled his black fedora down lower over his black mask, then put his hands in his pockets. "What are you doin' here Leo?" He asked instead of answering the question.

"You've gotten good Raph, but not that good. I knew you would show up here eventually." Raphael nodded then turned to leave.

"I'll meet you at your school tomorrow Leo, see if you can bring Mikey and Donny." He said walking a few steps.

"We didn't know where you went Raph." Leonardo said quietly. "You were just gone. We heard rumours here and there, but we hadn't heard anything for over a year, no rumour no nothing. We thought you were dead." He said quietly.

Raphael looked at his brother. A twinge of guilt trickled through him. "I should have been here when I found out Master Splinter was gone. I should have let you guys know I was still alive. I regret not coming back Leo, I do."

"So what were you doing out there Raph. What we heard was that you have been fighting. A mercenary for hire or some such thing." He said the last with loathing. "And to think I had never pictured you as the suicidal type Raph."

"Would you believe that of me Leo?"He looked at his brother. Leo's eyes steadily looked at him. "I have been working for the Utroms." He said finally. "They hooked me up with the best fighters from around the world. I have been training Leo. Sometimes the Utroms have had me infiltrate some of the Underground groups that have been rising. The Utroms are going to reveal themselves to the world soon Leo. And the world is going to change when they do. They needed me to make sure that some of the Underground groups were under control, so that when the Utroms reveal themselves, the things that go bump in the night, don't bump back." He paused.

"I don't have a death wish Leo. I never did. She risked everything for us, I'm not going to just throw it all away. Besides I had some things to learn before I died." He clenched his fist and his markings flared to life.

Raphael had noticed that his markings were the only ones that had flared when he had used Her sword during the demon war. He had found a mage that had been able to show him how to use the magic she had awoken in him.

"How?" His brother asked surprised.

Raphael shook his head. "I'll catch you tomorrow Leo." He walked to the entrance but paused. "There will never be anyone else for me Leo." He said as he tapped the place where She had left Her mark. He didn't know what, if any, power the mark held now that She was gone, but he knew with absolute certainty that he would never love another, even if he managed to find someone who could love him. He turned and walked out.

* * *

Raphael watched his brothers through the windows of Leonardo's school. Class was in session. Leonardo had about ten students, some were really good, some were just starting out.

Raphael heard a noise behind him. He tried to turn and pull his sais, but a hand bodily picked him up off the ground by his neck. He tried to get a look at the figure that emerged from the darkness.

"Hun." He managed to whisper

"I've waited a long time for you to get back." Pain blazed through his stomach as something was plunged deep through old scar tissue. Hun ripped out the blade and threw him through the window of Leonardo's school.

Glass shattered around him as his shell slammed into a metal support beam. Students screamed around him as he tried to stand.

Leonardo ran over to him. "Raph are you alright, what's going on?"

"Yeah I'm fine Leo." He said as he pulled his black trench coat closed so Leonardo wouldn't see the wound. "We have company." He said grimly as an army of 100 Purple Dragons stormed the building.

"Mikey help get the students to safety, those who want to stay and fight, stay, those who need to go, go." But all of Leonardo's students stayed. Only a few were human, and most had learned how to fight on the streets, of whatever 'Underground' world they inhabited. The Purple Dragons were no better than they had been in the past. A few Werewolves in wolf form circled a few Dragons, while the vampire cut her way through a great swath of them.

"Turtles!" Hun yelled. "How I have dreamed of this moment. All four back together again. All four of you can share the same grave." He screamed as more of the Purple Dragons charged.

"Nice welcome back hey Raph?" Michelangelo asked him as he kicked a Dragon trying to sneak up behind him. Raphael looked at Michelangelo in shock. There was a hardness and a bitterness that Raphael never thought to see on Michelangelo's face. None of his brothers were wearing their masks anymore.

"Yeah, real nice of Hun to roll out the welcome wagon." He growled. He could feel his blood running down his legs. Pain burned and rolled through him. Spots began to dance before his eyes. He shook his head trying to clear it. He focused on ridding Leonardo's school of Purple Dragons. The girl who was interested in Leonardo was doing well. She was a human with dark brown hair, brown eyes, and a coffee and cream complexion.

Raphael's eyes sought out Donatello through the chaos.

A Purple Dragon was going to get the drop on him. He managed to make his body move as he hit the Purple Dragon with a kick to the stomach.

He looked in shock at his brother. He was thinner, more drawn and when he moved he could see the lines of scars that worked their way up what he could see of Donatello's exposed arms.

"Donny." Raphael managed to choke out.

Brown eyes that held no emotion looked back at him. "Still alive Raph?" Donatello sneered at him. "You're not doing a very good job at getting yourself killed are you? If you were braver maybe you would have just taken your own life instead of being a coward and trying to get someone else to do it for you." Donatello said to him as his bo hit a Purple Dragon in the face.

Raphael hit another Purple Dragon. Moving away from Donatello. His vision was starting to go black. He struggled against it.

When Hun finally called retreat he stood looking back at them a smug smile on his face. "You think you have won, but at least I managed to get one of you." He walked out with the rest of the retreating Dragons.

"What do you think he's talking about?" Michelangelo asked no one in particular.

Leonardo shook his head. Raphael felt confused because he was sure he had just been standing and now it felt like he was on the floor.

"Raph!" Leonardo said as he pulled him up into his lap. "Donny!" Leonardo yelled as Donatello came running.

Donatello opened up his trench coat and pulled up his shirt. "How bad is it Donny?" Leonardo asked him.

Donatello looked at his wounds in shock. "I didn't..." He said as he paled. Looking at Leonardo his eyes held regret and guilt.

"Donny, I never wanted to die." Raphael choked out. "She risked everything to protect us, to save us, and just because she died, it doesn't mean she's gone." He said to his brother.

Raphael felt as if his body was growing colder. Donatello closed his eyes and shook his head. "So that's why I needed to come back Leo, to clean up your mess, and save your ass." Raphael said to Leonardo. He winced, but suddenly found that the pain was beginning to go away. "Yeah Raph, I guess you did." Leonardo choked out.

"I've missed you guys." He whispered, "Sorry I..."

Leonardo shook his head. Michelangelo and Donatello were looking at him with misery filled eyes. "No sorry's Raph." Michelangelo whispered.

Darkness was pulling him down. "I'll find Her Leo." He whispered as darkness claimed him.

Raphael looked around him and found everything to be washed out. He stared down at his body that was clutched in Leonardo's arms. "I'm sorry Leo, Donny, Mikey. I really screwed things up." He whispered. He glanced over his shoulder as something black swept over him like an all consuming darkness and he knew nothing else.

* * *

Leonardo looked at his brother in his arms and felt grief overwhelm him. He stood up as the need for revenge burned through him. Melanie came up to him and looked at him with sadness. He took out his cell and contacted the Guardians. If Raphael had been working for the Utroms they would need to know that Raphael was gone, and the Utroms could help them with The Purple Dragons. _Raphael was gone, so the Purple Dragons were going to suffer the same fate_. Leonardo thought angrily to himself.

"Leo," Melanie said softly. "Please don't do this. I know you are hurting, but revenge is never the answer."

Leonardo looked at the remains of his school. "I know, but sometimes it's all you have left. Take care of Raph."

Leonardo led his brothers against Hun. A few of the Utrom Guardians helped them. Hun was not expecting an attack so soon after the devastating loss of their brother. Hun didn't survive the attack, most of the Purple Dragons retreated. Leonardo knew that without Hun the Purple Dragons would be destroyed by another street gang soon enough if they attempted to reform.

* * *

Two weeks after Raphael's death Leonardo stood on the roof of Belvedere Castle. He was looking at the pictures that he had carried with him since She had died. The two blood stained photos that Raphael had carried with him had been buried with him along with her bow in its scabbard form. They had buried him beneath the floor of the old lair. The place had already been a tomb of memories, now it was actually a tomb. Leonardo had taken the photo album with him. It was the only record of Raphael and Her. They had no pictures of themselves anywhere. Leonardo had decided that it was time to stop ignoring the memories, and enjoy them for what they had been.

Hun's death had left him feeling empty and restless. It had not cured his grief, and it didn't make him feel any better. Another street gang was going to come along and fill the crime vacuum left by the Purple Dragons and the cycle would begin again.

Donatello and Michelangelo seemed to be getting better, or at least, they were talking to him again, which was a start. They were all still devastated by the loss of Raphael, but knowing that Raphael hadn't been trying to get himself killed had acted like a balm on their grieving souls.

He felt Melanie come up behind him. "I thought the worst of him." He said, voice emotionless. "I had thought that after She died that Raph had just snapped. That he had this death wish and was going to throw himself into any situation that would grant his wish. And here he was fighting the good fight, helping people, training, learning, trying to make the world a better place for us." He closed his eyes.

Melanie was silent. "Is that her?" She finally asked.

Leonardo looked down at the photographs forgotten in his hands. He let her look at them.

"She was beautiful." She said. He didn't need to look at the pictures to know what she was seeing. They had been ingrained into his memory. He carried with him the photo of Her and him dancing, the other was a picture of their final fight. She was spread along his body, her arm flush with his, in the act of grabbing his Katana from his grasp. He looked angry in the photo, he looked more than angry, he was full of jealousy and rage and hurt and if you looked past all of that you could just make out the love. Her expression was serene, eyes half closed, his trench coat swirling around her.

"You loved her a lot didn't you Leo?" She asked.

Leonardo closed his eyes in pain. "More than anything." He said as the wind whipped through his trench coat. Sometimes, when the wind blew just right he could still smell Her scent on his coat.

"It's kinda hard to compete with a goddess. Everyone after that is really just a step down." She said quietly, as she looked at the final picture. He had just pulled this one from the album. It was the one that had hurt his heart the most. The final picture of the album. Her looking back at them as she went to her death. "Even harder to compete against someone who sacrificed their life for you."

With Raphael gone, somehow it was as if his heart had been ripped open anew. But now instead of one piece missing it had two.

"But Leo, I love you, and only you. She was in love with you and your brothers, all of them, she wanted you to share!" She stopped talking as if realizing she had said the wrong thing. He looked at her.

She sighed and looked out over the lake. "Do you think he will find her?" She asked finally.

"Raph will tear apart Heaven and Hell looking for her." He said with a slight smile.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

Donatello looked at the last component that he had to install. He wasn't sure if the machine would even work. He had worked on it obsessively since Raphael had been killed. It had taken him seven years and now that he was sitting on the brink of completion he was hesitating.

The Utrom lab tech was looking at him as he waited for him to install the final piece.

"Why don't you go take a break. I want to run some more calculations before I install the final piece, it may take me a bit." Donatello said to him.

The lab tech shrugged and left leaving Donatello alone with his thoughts. He looked at the scars that ran the length of his arms. He had so many more scars on his legs that were covered by the black pants that he wore.

Leonardo had believed that he had become addicted to Her bite. Maybe he had, but he believed it was more that because of her bite, his line between pleasure and pain and become blurred and intermingled. Pain was pleasure and pleasure was pain. But still, he couldn't believe what he had done to himself.

No, he believed it, he even understood why he had done it. Deep down he knew that he had wanted the pain on the inside to be reflected on the outside. He had been numb, and he had believed Raphael was going to kill himself. Taking up the razor and slicing his flesh, watching the blood flow, feeling the pain, at least he had felt _something._ Which was better than the numb emotionless existence his life had become.

Finding out that Raphael hadn't been suicidal at all had been a shock, and with it the realization that the final words to his brother had been...horrible. Regret still filled him when he thought of what he had said to his brother before he died.

He sat down at the computer screen and ran the calculations again.

"Hey Donny." His older brother's voice drifted from behind him.

"Hey Leo." He said as he turned around and looked at his older brother. Leonardo had tried so hard to keep them together after She had died. They had all been so caught up in their own private grief that they hadn't realized that they had abandoned each other when they had needed each other the most. Raphael's death had showed them that.

Leonardo wore the black uniform of the United Earth Alliance Army. He was carrying his hat under his arm. Donatello met Leonardo's eye. "So when are they shipping you out?" He asked as he studied his older brother's face.

Raphael had been right. The Utroms revealing their existence had changed the world. They had finally been able to come out of hiding, and many of the other creatures of the Underground world had emerged. Things had of course not gone smoothly. There had been riots, anger at real illegal aliens, fear, hatred, disgust and a million other emotions rolling through the human populace. There was of course part of the population that had accepted everything as well, but they were the minority rather than the norm.

Then the Patheons had attacked Earth. They wanted to remove the current inhabitants, and populate Earth themselves. Suddenly the governments the world over were gladly welcoming the newly revealed Underground and alien population with open arms, especially if they would join the resistance against the invaders.

"Tomorrow." He said curtly.

"Are you sure you're ready to go back Leo? It has only been a few months since you were injured..." Donatello began.

Leonardo shook his head. "I'm fine Donny." Leonardo lied. Donatello could tell that his brother wasn't ready to go back to the front, but he knew there was nothing he could say that would make Leonardo change his mind. Donatello glanced at the still fresh scars that covered his brothers face. He had lost his left eye in the explosion. The left side of his face was badly scarred. Most of the damage done to him had been because of shrapnel. He hadn't been that close to the blast, but the Shrapnel had shredded a good chunk of the left side of his body. Medical technology had advanced a great deal and they were able to repair much of the damage, but they hadn't been able to give his brother his sight back. He wore a black patch over his ruined eye.

"So is this thing done yet or what?" Leonardo asked changing the subject and glaring in disgust at his machine.

"No." Donatello said. He stood up and walked over to it. "Leo, I've thought of nothing else for the last seven years. I wanted to change everything that happened so badly that it consumed me. Now I am so close and...I can't do it Leo, I can't finish it. The ramifications of something like this. I never really thought about them. What if this got into the wrong hands, the temptation to change a little thing here, a big thing there. I mean can you imagine?" Donatello asked him while looking at the machine.

"You've figured something out, haven't you Donny?" Leonardo questioned.

"I should have listened to you Leo, but I wanted to go back so badly. I wanted to change the past, so that maybe She wouldn't have died, and if I saved Her I could save Raph. And even if I couldn't save Her, maybe at least I could have saved Raph. But I was thinking about it and, She never changed anything."

Leonardo raised an eye ridge. "What do you mean Donny?"

"She said she could travel through time on this world, but she never did. She could have saved them all. She could have saved her friends from being killed, hell, she could have stopped Michael from killing her, but she never did, and I couldn't figure it out. I never understood if she could have, why she didn't." He looked at his brother who waited patiently for him to finish his thought. "And as I was just about to finish the time machine I realized that she didn't because she knew that you _can't_ change the past. And if you _can_, you shouldn't. I think She would have said that 'things turn out the way that they are _supposed_ to, not the way that you _want_ them to.' " He finished quietly.

"I've got to destroy it Leo, it and all of my research. I mean I don't even know if it would work, but I can't take the chance that it _might._" Donatello sat down on his chair and began typing furiously. He had built in an automatic self destruct. He engaged the self destruct sequence and thought to himself that he must have known that what he was doing was wrong, otherwise why bother putting in a self destruct program?

"We've got to get out of here Leo. This thing is going to explode." He grabbed his brother by the arm and pulled him towards the exit. Michelangelo was just on his way into the lab. Donatello grabbed him by his uniform and pulled him along.

"Donny what the...?" Michelangelo asked.

Donatello sealed the doors and braced himself as the explosion rocked the compound.

Red lights began flashing and sirens began blaring. Donatello closed his eyes at the thought of seven years worth of work going up in literal smoke, but oddly enough, his heart hadn't felt this light in years.

"Donny..." Michelangelo began. But Donatello pulled both brothers away from the door as emergency personnel rushed by.

"That felt good." Donatello said with a smile. He looked at his brother's expressions and laughed. It felt good to be able to laugh again. "I wish Raph could have seen that." He said with a smile. And for the first time in seven years thinking about Raphael didn't hurt. They walked down the hall together in silence. Donatello dragged them into the employee lounge and locked the door. He rummaged around in the fridge and brought out three cans of cola. He threw one at Michelangelo and gave the other to Leonardo. He knew his brother was still adjusting to only having one eye and his depth perception was still completely off.

Michelangelo wore his black uniform well. He and Leonardo were part of the same unit and he had been the one to drag Leonardo's injured body back from enemy lines. If Leonardo was leaving tomorrow it meant that Michelangelo would be heading out as well. Michelangelo had found purpose in fighting in the army. He was no longer bitter and angry, but the carefree brother Donatello had known was gone. He supposed they had all left what innocence they had had left behind them the night She had died.

"I still can't believe it's been 7 years since Raph was killed, and it's been 12 years since She died. " Leonardo said as he rubbed at the scarred flesh on his cheek. He huffed out a breath. "Makes me feel old." He grumbled. Leonardo still wore his swords strapped to his back. He pulled out his Katana and began practicing with it. He said it helped him with his vision. He swung his sword and grimaced. "It's easier doing this blind, than trying to do it with one eye." Leonardo grumbled in frustrated anger.

"Do you still love Her Leo?" Michelangelo asked quietly. Leonardo froze, sheathed his sword and stood up straight. He looked at his youngest brother. He seemed unsure how to answer. "You never dated anyone Leo, not after Melanie. Donny has been so obsessed with his machine, that he apparently just blew up," He gave Donatello a pointed look. "That he never got out of the lab..."

"And you went through a string of girls Mikey. Why are you asking?" Leonardo asked softly.

Michelangelo rubbed his eyes and looked away. "Twelve years is a long time to love someone who was only around for two months. Most people would say we needed help." Michelangelo said softly. "I dated so many women, some human, some not, and do you know that not one of them even came close to replacing Her. Which is ridiculous because it seems wrong to want a woman who, for one is dead, and for two, I would have had to share with my brothers, over one who was, for one, alive, and for two, just wanted me, but, that's how I feel." He paused in thought. "And She never left any crap around. I didn't have to look at a whole crap load of junk that cluttered up the sink in the bathroom. I mean how many different kinds of face cream and hair products does one person need!" He asked his brothers who burst out laughing.

Michelangelo smiled, then his face grew serious. "I know we should have moved on, but why didn't we? I still love Her as much as I did twelve years ago, and it is a waste because She's dead." Michelangelo said miserably.

"Do you want to forget your love for Her Mikey?" Leonardo asked him.

Michelangelo blew out a breath and took a swig of cola. "No." He grumbled.

"Do you know what I regret the most Mikey?" Leonardo asked him.

"Besides everything?" Michelangelo said with a smile.

Leonardo smiled and saluted him with his cola. "I blamed Her for breaking us. All of us. I thought if it wasn't for Her then our family wouldn't have destroyed itself. I wished that She had never come into our lives, that we never loved Her." Leonardo said with regret. "But deep down I knew that I didn't really wish any of those things. I regret telling Raph that She broke us. I regret trying to have a relationship with Melanie and stringing her along because my heart was never in it. I thought that I could replace Her with someone else in my heart. What I didn't realize was that She took the whole thing with Her and there is nothing left to give to anyone else. Maybe that sounds sad or pathetic, but it is how I feel. I just wish I had put the blame where it belonged in the first place, on all of us." Leonardo studied his cola can intently.

"But the worst thing," Leonardo continued. "Is that we don't even know how She died, only that She did, and the world didn't end, so Lucifer must have won. I mean we knew Lucifer was going to win because She told Gabriel that he did win. But my mind would always circle around wondering, did a demon finally kill Her? Was She captured and tortured to death? Did She make a deal with K'emeth, sacrificing Herself? Did Lucifer kill Her after they won the war out of Jealousy, I mean he is the Devil! There are so many ways she could have died and my mind would always think of the most horrifying scenarios. It was bad enough having to watch her die in her Memory, seeing the light go out of her eyes." Leonardo shook his head as if he couldn't continue with the thought. "Then I think of the brutal world she must have come from that turned that girl into a merciless killer. She killed those demons without feeling anything. The look in her eyes when she killed them. She ripped them apart literally and I have never seen anything so terrifyingly horrifying as that." Leonardo scratched at his scarred cheek.

"She was old Leo. So very old, we can't even begin to grasp the concept of that kind of time, and what it would do to a mortal trapped in the world of gods." Donatello said to him. Leonardo nodded.

They were silent for a few moments, each lost in their own thoughts.

"Do you think he ever found Her?" Michelangelo asked quietly.

"I don't know Mikey." Leonardo said finishing off his can of cola.

Donatello smiled. "Knowing Raph he charged in unthinking as usual, and found out that things were not quite what he expected..."

* * *

Please stay tuned, Rapahel shows up in the next chapter! Please read and reveiw!


	3. Chapter 3

Alrighty all, next chapter is up, and tying up some loose ends..sorta =) Enjoy! Please read and reveiw!

Raphael shook his head trying to clear it of the cobwebs that seemed to have taken up residence. It felt as if his brain had been sitting too long. He looked around him. Wherever he was it was rocky and barren. The sky stretched above him, large rock formations hung in the sky. Behind him was a gate with the words:

Limbo Level I

He walked to the edge of the rock he was standing upon and looked down. Beneath him was a swirling pit of red rock, lava and darkness. He stepped back from the edge. "Hello." Said a bored voice. "I am sorry you are dead insert name here." There was some rustling of paper. "Raphael no last name. I know that this will be a time of great adjustment for you, but I would personally like to welcome you to the Afterlife." Raphael turned and stared at the girl in front of him in shock. She was around twelve years old with dark pigtails and bangs. She looked to be Asian with dark eyes, a light complexion, and was wearing an honest to goodness sailor uniform. She looked like those Japanese school girls in those anime shows. She was negligently chewing bubble gum and looked uninterested in what she was doing. "My name is Mon, I will be your Reaper for your journey to, insert destination here." More rustling of paper. "Underworld 2 Section 5 Level 10." She took a deep breath. "It is the responsibility of the Reaper, that's me, Mon, to deliver you to your destination to the best of his or her ability. The Management is not liable for any soul lost or consumed during the subsequent journey. Is that understood?"

Raphael nodded while his brain tried to process what was going on.

"What wait!" She said flipping back through her clipboard. "Underworld 2! That Little, oh he is so Extinguished. No one said anything about an inter-world soul transfer!" She said angrily.

"Um, hey kid..." Raphael began. She didn't look at him but grabbed what looked like a cell phone and began calling a number. "Esther, Graham switched me his transfer, but he didn't tell me it was inter-world. I so did not pack for an inter-world transfer." She listened to whoever was on the other end of the phone. "There are Rhenna out there and you expect me to..." She listened some more and paled. "No...no, that's, I'll be fine." She hung up the phone and huffed. She stamped her foot and screamed. "That little...he is so...ggrrrr...if I make it out of this alive..." She grumbled.

She grabbed the clipboard again. "Please sign here, and initial here." She said giving him the clipboard and a feather quill. It was then that she actually looked at him. She stopped mid motion and stared open mouthed at him.

"What you never see a giant walking talking turtle before." He asked grabbing the quill and clipboard from her hand, signing it and giving it back.

"Oh my gods it's you, or one of you!" She started jumping up and down and screaming like a, well, a twelve year old girl. "I can't believe it eeeeeee!" She squealed. "Oh that jerk Graham, he is going to be furious. " She laughed. "This almost makes up for what he did to me...almost." She looked at him again and squealed.

"Hey kid, could you please quit screaming and tell me what the he...ck is going on." He said modifying his language.

"You're dead." She said to him.

"I know that, but..."

She cut him off. "Which one are you? Please tell me which one...wait I have your name, Raphael. Now which one were you the angry one...no there were two angry ones, the smart one, the funny one...what colour were you?" She asked looking at him. He looked down at himself. He was coloured in shades of blue, which was a little disturbing. "Of course!" She pulled up his shirt exposing his scars. "The red one!" She said proudly. "Wait a minute, she pulled up his shirt farther, that can't be." She said in amazement.

He managed to wrestle his shirt from her grasp and pull it back down. "Listen kid, could you please focus for just a minute and tell me what is going on."

She looked deep in thought. "I'm not a kid." She said absently. She shook herself out of her abstraction and screamed again. "Aleah is going to be so jealous! I can't believe I am going to have to wait until I drop you off before I can message her! She 's going to be so envious that I got one of Her lovers! How didn't we know you had crossed over?" She asked herself as she checked her clipboard. "Oh you were collected by a Shadow Reaper." She said nodding to herself.

Raphael tried to grab Mon but his hands passed right through her. He looked at his hands in confusion, shook his head. "You know Her! Where is She!" He asked desperately.

She looked at him in shock. "You don't know?"

"Don't know what?" He asked in confusion.

"Why you and your brothers are legendary." She said to him.

Raphael pinched the bridge of his beak between his eyes. "Then why don't you tell me." He said evenly.

"She was Extinguished, over one thousand years ago."

Raphael looked at her in shock. "What do you mean She was Extinguished over one thousand years ago? And what do you mean a thousand years ago, She only died five years ago!" He said, his voice rising.

She shook her head back and forth pigtails swinging wildly. She began flipping through her clipboard. "Let's see. It says here that you have been in processing in Limbo Level 1 for..997 years." She said nodding. "They actually processed you rather quickly." She said clearly impressed.

"997 Years! I have been in Limbo for 997 years!" He yelled.

She nodded her head. "Like I said I'm impressed, they usually don't process souls that fast. What with all of the visitors from different worlds coming to Earth and dying. New gods from off-world trying to get their worshipper's souls back to the correct Afterlife. Not to mention the new gods moving in, the expansion projects alone...The Underworld has nearly trebled in size this past Millennia." She said shaking her head.

"997 years is still not fast!" He yelled.

"Tell that to the last guy I escorted to Heaven, he was in limbo for 2340 years." She said looking at him like he should be grateful.

"So where is Her soul now?" He said taking a breath and realizing he didn't actually have to breathe.

She looked at him like he was crazy. "Her soul was Extinguished. Her light was destroyed, obliterated, annihilated, She's gone, She no longer exists. That is why you and your brothers are famous." She said to him as if he should understand. She rolled her eyes. "When word got out what had happened, well it was the most tragically romantic love story since Helen and Paris, Tristan and Isolde, Romeo and Juliet, well you get the picture. The Underworld and Godly Plains had despaired of ever having another great love story like it." She sighed and clasped her hands together. "Four brothers fighting for the love of the same woman, and Her courageous fight to save the world, just to protect the men She loved. I mean she totally would have had to have known that once she died they would find out about her soul and Destroy her." She looked at him with a dreamy expression. "Your story had everything, love, anguish, ex-loves, sacrifice! Truly beautiful." She said close to tears.

He looked at her and sank to his knees as what she said sunk in. She was gone, really and truly gone. He clutched at the grey shadowy ground in anguish. "Why, why did they destroy her?" He choked out. "She saved the world! She stopped the Apocalypse from happening! Why!" He whispered in despair as Gabriel's words drifted back to him. 'To think He would ask this of you.' and Her words in return. 'I accept my fate.' He hadn't thought about what he had said, what She had said not really, but suddenly Gabriel's despair, Her resolve had a much more devastating meaning. She knew that even if the goddesses didn't consume Her, she wasn't going to make it, that Her soul was going to be destroyed.

"Because she was too powerful, the gods feared her." She said sadly as if finally realizing that the news she had delivered was devastating.

"So the only thing I have left is my Revenge." He whispered to himself.

She shook her head."You're dead. There is no revenge for you. You had your chance to live the life that she gave to you. You should have been happy, got married had kids, you know all that mortal stuff. Your part of the story is over now." She said looking at her clipboard again. "Five years! You only made it five years!" She rubbed her temples. "No wonder you want revenge." She said looking at him accusingly.

"Hey Kid, I tried okay!" He yelled at her.

"Unless, "She knelt down in front of him. "Did you pine away? Die from a broken heart? oooo oooo, I know, took your own life in despair. That would be okay. That would be a perfect romantic ending." She said looking at him earnestly.

He looked at her. "What is wrong with you?" He asked as he tried to shake off his despair and cloak himself in his interminable anger, to feel his thirst for revenge, but his anger would not come.

She just shrugged. "I am still learning." She said as if this explained everything.

"I was murdered, I didn't plan on coming here this soon...or not so soon because it's been almost a thousand years!"

"Murdered." She sighed as if he had disappointed her. "Oh well" She shook her head as if to clear it. "We need to get going, we are seriously behind schedule."

She hauled him to his feet. "Where are you taking me?" He asked in confusion.

"I already told you Underworld 2 Section 5 Level 10." She said hauling him along.

"Listen kid, I can't go to the Underworld, do you hear me. There are people that have to pay for what happened to Her. I was going to start with that bast...jerk Michael." He growled.

She looked at him in shock. "Michael, the Archangel?"

"Yeah him." Raphael said shaking off her grip.

"Michael's already dead. Lucifer killed him when he found him on Earth. Lucifer was threatening all out war on Heaven if they didn't give Her soul to him. He was still totally in love with her. Lucifer and Gabriel spent all of that time with her. Eight months of fighting to finally bring about the end of the war in Hell." She paused in thought. "She must really have had a thing for brothers." She mused out loud.

"She...what?" She had loved them, Raphael knew that she had loved Gabriel and Lucifer, but she had said...

"Don't worry everyone who saw the memovid could see that she probably didn't love them in that way." She said looking straight at him. "But, I think she did sacrifice herself to save them as well." She looked dreamy again. "It was so romantic."

He opened his mouth then shut it. "Wait, so Lucifer didn't get Her soul, and what do you mean She sacrificed herself?" He said pulling her to a stop. He looked down in confusion, she could grab him but he couldn't seem to touch her.

"Well how do you think she stopped the Apocalypse?" She was still looking at him like he was an idiot. "Think about it, she was in Hell where demons are at their strongest. K'emeth's army was like four times bigger than Lucifer's. I mean she was powerful, but to destroy an army that size," She shook her head. "Even she had a limit to the amount of power she could use. Demons regenerate after three days, unless their souls are ripped out and consumed or their bodies and souls are completely obliterated. I mean do you know how much power it takes to obliterate a demon soul? Massive amounts. Granted not as much power as say, destroying a human soul, but still, stupid amounts of power."

"I saw her use a spell...Death.."

"Ooohh her Death and Destruction spell. Yah that was thought to be her most powerful spell. It uses more power than most gods can even muster. I mean obliterating thousands of demon souls at once." She said with awe. She looked around and sighed. Raphael felt completely out to sea. "I am so not supposed t be doing this, but because it's you," She pulled out a flat screen of some sort, from somewhere. Probably the same place where her clipboard and pen had disappeared to.

She began touching the screen, then handed it over to him. It was like a tiny computer screen the size of an open paperback book. She looked over his shoulder and hit the play button on the screen. The image was a little shaky, and degraded. "Sorry about the bad quality, but the memovid is over a thousand years old, and the memory has been re-claimed so it is the memory of a memory." She said to him. Raphael didn't have a clue what she was talking about, but all his attention was focused on the screen.

His goddess was clutched in the arms of a demon. She was battered, bloody and exhausted. He could see that she was clutching her stomach in pain. Blood was running freely down her legs from a wound. Her wings were gone, it looked like they had been torn off. The demon was looking at her with worry and love. Another demon knelt near them. She reached out and clasped the hand of the other demon. The demon holding his goddess had long black hair, elf-like ears, grey eyes, and brown horns. His skin was swarthy as if he had spent many hours in the sun. Black bat wings stretched out behind him, a serpentine tail thrashed back and forth in anger and worry. He was badly wounded as well, he seemed to be suffering from severe burns.

The other demon had shoulder length curly golden hair, blue eyes, a light complexion, silver curling horns, grey wings and tail. It took a moment for Raphael to recognize Gabriel, but he did, which meant the other demon was actually Lucifer. Lucifer and Gabriel were looking at her in concern

Lucifer brushed his fingers across her cheek. She closed her eyes as she put a hand on his.

"We can't win." Gabriel said looking out at the mass of writhing forms that were charging towards them. They stood at the front of their army.

"But we do." She said. "There is always a Fools Chance." She said with a slight smile.

"But a Fools Chance is only for mortals, and it is never granted twice." Gabriel said to her.

"True." She said looking at them. She smiled at them. It was a smile filled with sadness tinged with love. He recognized the look. It was the same look that had been captured in the last photo of their album. The look that said she wasn't coming back. This was going to be the moment, the moment where she was going to give up everything to save everyone.

Lucifer looked at her with concern as if he had the same thought, the same knowledge that she was going to do _something_.

"Put me down Lucy." She said to him.

Raphael started. She called Lucifer...Lucy? She had never used any nicknames for them. She had always called them by their first names, their whole first names.

"Yeah she did that to totally tick him off. Hated that nickname. Course she gave it to him when he didn't know who She was. Seemed okay with it when he found out who she was though." Mon said to him. Raphael realized he had spoken his thoughts out loud.

He turned his attention back to the screen. Lucifer clutched her tighter. "Kaethryn...Please, whatever you are going to do, please don't." He whispered.

"Kaethryn." Gabriel said as he reached for her pulling her from Lucifer's arms.

"Gabe, Lucy, please let Kaethryn go, it is the only way you will ever be happy." She begged.

"We will never be happy without you." Lucifer whispered.

She smiled a radiant smile. "Yes you will. I know you will." She looked at the monstrous sea of writhing forms in front of her. "I can hear the sand now, it is almost gone. It's time." She pulled away from Gabriel and vanished. She reappeared closer to K'emeth's army.

"Goodbye." She whispered as she closed her eyes and spread her arms wide. A shield encased the whole of their demon army. Lucifer and Gabriel began to bang on the shield, their screams muffled.

The power she gathered was different from what he had seen before. She seemed to be saying something, but whatever she was saying couldn't be heard. She was collecting something in her hand. It was a tiny black ball, and this tiny ball shook the shields that she had erected. Whatever she was doing was powerful. A fine black mist had begun to form around her.

"Darkness' Embrace." She whispered to the small ball of black power in her hands. She let it go and it drifted quietly away from her. It was nothing like the Death and Destruction spell that had obliterated everything. The sphere drifted lazily towards the advancing army and dissipated. Suddenly a yawning blackness opened up and the demons began screaming. The army was enveloped by the blackness that rode and swirled like a tidal wave consuming everything in its path.

And then it was over, just like that. K'emeth's army was gone, Lucifer was victorious, and the Golden Goddess closed her eyes.

Lucifer managed to catch her body, his hair turning white when he did. The figure of Death caught her soul, his Scythe cutting her soul free from her body, then Death vanished. Lucifer clutched her body and screamed his grief as her body dissipated into nothingness. The video ended.

Mon removed the tablet from his numb hands."See she totally didn't love them in that way otherwise she would have at least kissed them before she sacrificed herself. A final touching of lips and exchange of I love yous, something." She said with determination. He felt hollow.

She looked at him again and said, "K'emeth had 1000 legions at his command. That means she destroyed 5,000000 demon souls." She shook her head. "That kind of power, even her body couldn't survive that. There is no god out there who could have destroyed that many souls, and most were amazed that she was able to pull together that much power within a mortal body. And here is the part that few know." She said in a whisper. "That last spell, Diemortia and Dielucere don't even know where it came from. It wasn't theirs." She stopped whispering.

"Anyway, so when she died the goddesses emerged, which is a whole other story. Death held her soul. Lucifer threatened war with Heaven, but by then the Council of Gods had already set her on trial, which was really just a formality. She was found guilty of impersonating a goddess and sentenced to be Extinguished. She is the only mortal soul in history to ever have been Extinguished." She said with awe. "Sure there are many mortal souls that get Consumed, sometimes Destroyed, but never formally executed. Of course the trial was a sham, she never impersonated a goddess, she was a goddess, had her own Mark and everything. You still wear her Mark over your heart, which is totally like, impossible. It should have vanished when she was Extinguished, but it's still there which is weird. You must have been the one she loved the most." She looked at him then squealed. "And I got to actually meet you! eeeeeeeee!"

Raphael looked down at his chest and lifted up his shirt. He could never see what Mark She had left but now he could. A white eight sided star blazed brightly over his heart. "She didn't love me the most." He said softly. "She loved all of us." He said to her.

She shook her head. "Did she Mark all of your brothers?"

He shook his head. "I know how it looks, but trust me, I wasn't her first choice, I'm pretty sure that honour fell to Leo." He said softly.

She shrugged."Doesn't matter, she was like, incredible." She shook herself and pulled an hour glass from somewhere. "Crap. Listen, I know this is hard for you, but I still have a job to do." She looked around. "Now listen to me because this is important. You have to do what I say understand. We have a long journey through The Ways and there are Rhenna out there. Do you understand. Rhenna eat souls. They are fast and hard to kill, so unless you want to be eaten you listen to me, got it." She looked at him.

Raphael nodded abstractedly as she pulled him along. How had they destroyed her? How could they have taken something so bright and pure and full of light and happiness and love and joy and just destroyed it? Watching her die was devastating, knowing that she had been destroyed was even more heart wrenching. The gods who voted to end her soul were going to pay. He didn't know how, but he was going to make them pay. Anger washed through his as he focused on his surroundings.

* * *

Poor Raph... Anyway please keep reading more answers to come, and things are going to get complicated...

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Chapter 3


	4. Chapter 4

Alrighty chapter 4 is up!. It is kinda long, and Mon talks..a lot. But Rapahel has to know what he is dealing with since it is the world of gods...

Please read and reveiw! =)

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Chapter 4

They were on a floating rock, but appearing in front of them was a grey and misty tunnel. Beyond the tunnel and yet still part of the tunnel was a desert-like landscape, peppered with rock and skeletal trees that dotted the landscape like some forlorn wasteland. She pulled him through the tunnel. His mind was furiously thinking.

Someone had to pay, he thought as he put one foot in front of the other. The Council of Gods who had voted against her, and most importantly God. "Where was He!" He asked. "Where were You when You asked her to give up everything!" He shouted into the shadowy darkness.

Mon looked at him. "Raphael keep your voice down. We don't need to be announcing our presence any more than you already are." She said to him angrily. "You don't get it do you?" She said to him. "Usually I am packing heavy duty supplies on this route, but not today. So like I said, unless you want to be eaten you had better be quiet. This journey will take us at least a day, and we have already gotten off to a late start. At the rate we are going we're going to have to find shelter and stop for the night." She grumbled.

They trudged through the wasteland of The Ways, or whatever they were called, and Raphael thought furiously. There had to be a way, some way to finish what he came here to do. He looked at the girl pulling him along. He was half expecting her to be blowing bubblegum and texting someone, but instead she was silent and wary. Her earlier fascination with him seemed to have burnt itself out.

"So what's your deal anyway?" He asked her.

"My deal?" She asked as if she didn't understand the question.

"Yeah, you know, what's your story? Where are your parents anyway?" He said looking at her.

She looked at him like he had suddenly sprouted another head. "I'm a Reaper." She said as if that explained everything.

He looked at her. Maybe it was an immortal thing or something, but talking to her seemed annoyingly like talking to...Her.

She rolled her eyes at him. "I Reap souls. I am a Reaper, T-Class. That means I am a transfer Reaper as opposed to an L-Class Reaper, or life Reaper. They pick up the souls of the newly deceased. I transfer souls of the dead from Limbo Level 1 to wherever their final resting place will be. You are going to Underworld 2 which is the T'lae-ran Underworld. Unfortunately for us Reapers some of the goddesses' creatures are from Earth and thus require an inter-world transfer."

He looked at her in confusion. "Okay think of it this way, Earth and T'lae-ran are partially overlapped within the non-physical universe. So basically even though they don't actually share the same physical space, they share the same dimensional space, thus overlapping each other. Because the two worlds are bound by gods and too many portals to count they share space in the Underworld, but Underworld 2 or the T'lae-ran Underworld is still physically on T'lae-ran, thus inter-world transfer. Make sense?"She asked him. "She sighed, fine just think of it as you were living in New York, and now you get to live in London. Same world different Country. Same Underworld different planet."

Raphael shook his head. Worse than talking to Donny. He thought to himself, then felt a twinge for his brother. "Don't worry you will get it eventually, and don't worry, when you enter the Underworld you won't feel like you do right now."

"Yeah and how do you know how I feel?" He asked her.

"Trust me, after more than a thousand years of taking souls to their resting places you figure these things out. Right now you feel all angry and whatever, you will get over it, find some people you know, maybe, if they haven't been reincarnated, that sort of thing." She said with a shrug.

"You have no idea how I feel." He growled.

She looked at him. "Nope not really. I am trying to learn, can you explain it to me?" She asked him curiously.

He looked at her trying to figure out whether she was making fun of him. She seemed perfectly serious. "I feel like I am burning up with rage and loss and hate, and I have nowhere and no one to turn all of these emotions on."

"Hmmm interesting. Myself I have only figured out love. Hate is the opposite of love, perhaps one day I may be able to figure out hate." She said herself.

She was silent for a while as she pulled him along. Every so often she would veer and they would hit another grey misty tunnel that he didn't even notice was there. Every time we hit one of these tunnels she would slow down, listening intently. She was always wary, always searching until finally the sky began darkening. There didn't seem to be any moon or stars where they were, so when darkness began to fall it was true and absolute.

"Over there." She said to him as she pulled him over to an outcropping of rock. It was strange because even though it felt like they were traveling, nothing changed. The scenery he had been trudging through for the past few hours looked the same as when they had first started out.

"So why are we stopping?" He asked her.

She glared at him like something was his fault. "Because unlike you I actually get tired. We have been walking for hours. And besides that, it is extremely dangerous to travel The Ways at night." She huddled up under a small shelf of rock. "You should get down here, you are lit up like a giant neon sign saying 'please eat me.'" She grumbled.

Raphael sat down to the side of her so that he could still see her. She had pulled her knees into her chest and had her arms around her knees. She looked weary and watchful and scared. Raphael felt guilt slide through him.

"So what was She like?" She asked him suddenly.

"Goddess?" He asked her.

"You called her goddess?" She asked.

"Yeah, we all did. I mean I know she was a goddess, but calling her Andora just didn't seem to fit, neither did Katherine."

"No it wouldn't" Mon said matter o' factly

"What do you mean?" He asked surprised.

"Well, Andora was Dielucere's angel." She said as if this again explained everything.

"How about you explain it to me like, I don't know, like I have no idea what you are talking about!" He shouted at her.

"Definitely one of the angry ones." She grumbled. She rolled her eyes. "Well, waaaayyyy back when, Diemortia and Dielucere both had angels. During their fighting Diemortia destroyed and consumed the souls of all of Dielucere's angels, all except one, her name was Andora. Dielucere turned the soul of her dead angel mortal and sent her to Earth to protect her from Diemortia. And here is where things get creepy weird. The former angel turned human soul, was none other than Charity Hamilton. That's right Katherine Brook's friend and the one who shot and killed her." She said to him, as if sharing the biggest and juiciest piece of junior high gossip. "Creepy huh? So Charity, former angel killed by Diemortia, shoots and kills the host of Diemortia. How's that for revenge. Course she also technically shot her goddess as well, but she didn't know that since it was Diemortia that had mostly manifested." She said with a shrug. Raphael tried to digest what she had said.

"Names are of course very important. A god is actually stronger without a name. A name binds a gods power. Of course there are some gods out there with names and secret True names." She paused in thought. "Names are funny that way." She said musingly. "I mean we can have no way of knowing why She chose that name. Could have been something like...I don't know both goddesses were thinking 'Andora you bitch you just shot me,' or something, and blam name gets stuck in your goddess' head. Since Katherine had already died, and because of the way her soul was, I think it went into reset mode, that's why she wasn't Katherine either. Good job on picking that up. Most mortals aren't that intuitive." She said as if she was clearly impressed with him.

Raphael closed his eyes in frustrated annoyance. If he could get a headache, hell, if he could feel anything physical at the moment, he would have a migraine, a roaring migraine.

"Alright to recap, Charity was a former angel to the good goddess, Charity somehow felt her arch nemesis inside Katherine and shot her trying to kill the dark goddess within."

"Well if you want to be really simplify it, I suppose so." She said with a shrug.

"Okay, I was with you right up 'till the point where you start talking about the 'way' her soul was, and it 'going into reset mode'. What the hell is reset mode! And how do you know all this stuff anyway?"

"I know it cause I am a Reaper, we deal in death, it's what we are, and because Her death was such a mess Death himself had to personally oversee it. The paperwork alone took months! The other stuff about Diemortia and Dielucere, and the war on T'Lae-ran, common knowledge. Anyway try to keep up cause here is where it gets really confusing and convoluted."

"Gee I can't wait." He said sarcastically.

"Good" She said with a smile, his sarcasm going completely over her head. "Okay so you know Katherine's story right. Ridden by the goddesses souls since like time immemorial. And the gods killing her like, a lot." She paused and he nodded so far so good. "Okay so then her soul starts like completely disappearing." Raphael looked at her in confusion. She huffed out a breath of irritation. "Mortal dies, Reaper cuts the cord of life that attaches said soul to body. Reaper takes the soul to Charon who ferries the soul across the river Styx to the Underworld, and then the soul is taken to wherever their resting place is. With me so far?" Raphael nodded. So far so good.

"Good." She gave a slight nod then tapped her lips with a finger in thought. "The Underworld doesn't work that way now though. All because of "cutbacks" and "cost effectiveness". She said bitterly. "Now Charon drives his ferry over the river Styx which has been relocated to Hell, and all souls are all processed in the same place. Paperwork is filed and the soul is processed etc, etc.

"See before it used to be that when a soul was processed it remained a nice little blue glowing ball, you gave said ball to the Gatekeeper and if a soul was to be reincarnated it was stripped of its memories, 'reset' if you will and the soul was taken to be delivered to its next body. Now not so much because of the Rhenna. At least in this form you can run if we are attacked. Anyway stripping a soul of its memories is of course not perfect. You know people who sometimes hear voices in their heads, or seem to have more than one personality? Well sometimes it's not chemical, sometimes it's because a memory reset didn't completely erase all of the memories, or the soul needs to have a memory dump." She said with a shrug as Raphael got lost again.

"Anyway so your goddess' soul started pulling the vanishing act. Reaper delivers it to Charon, Charon ferries it and poof by the time it reaches the other side, gone. So in order for the soul to inhabit a new body it has to be reset. Her soul probably started resetting itself not too long after she died, which means she would have had a few moments of remembering who she was after she died, then nothing, complete blank. How her soul actually reset itself and started acting on its own, no idea. Should be completely impossible, but it could have something to do with the two goddesses riding her soul." She shrugged.

Raphael looked at her blankly. "Let's rewind for a sec. What is the difference between a memory dump and a reset?"

Mon looked at him. "How can I explain this in a way you can possibly understand." She tapped a finger to her lips in thought. "Early 21st century right?"

"Yeah." He said in confusion.

"Okay think of a soul like it was a computer, with programs and files and stuff. With me so far?" She asked. He nodded. "Okay so all of a soul's memories are like program files. When the soul dies and is going to be reincarnated they need to wipe the hard drive or soul, clean. So they dump all of the program files into the recycle bin and the soul is reincarnated. So even thought the program files are 'gone' they are in actuality still there until you 'empty the recycle bin' or perform a memory dump. And before you ask why not do a memory dump every time, it is because memory dumps are hard on a soul. It strips the soul of all experiences which is not healthy. So the Processors have to find the balance between memory dumps and memory resets. Usually now the Processors do partial memory dumps, less harsh on the soul." She shrugged.

"Anyway since She wasn't processed in the proper way I would almost bet money that she never had a memory dump, which means that her Memory Room would have been, giant. Practically every memory sitting in there since she existed. She should have gone insane. All those lives crowding together, whispering and talking." She shook her head. "And since she never had even one life that didn't end tragically, well her soul must have been an absolute mess." She said grimly. "Souls, if you keep reincarnating them without rest, even when they have memory resets and dumps, well they just burn out. A human soul can only take so much before it just...breaks."

Mon's words echoed the conversation Gabriel had had with Goddess before they had fallen to Hell. _I have never broken._ Her voice drifted through his mind from memory.

"I was there." Raphael said softly.

"Where?" Mon asked curiously. "Wait you actually saw her Memory Room?" She said with awe.

Raphael nodded. "And her soul. Her Memory Room was huge and very...organized. Her soul was a mess, you're right about that."

"That's amazing." She breathed. "The sheer and absolute strength of will it would have taken to keep millions of lives separate, and keep two amazingly powerful goddesses in check. She was really something wasn't she?" She asked.

"Yeah She was." He said softly.

"It's really too bad her Life Glass began pouring again." She said suddenly. "I would have really liked to have met Her. I mean I had only been aware for about two hundred years, but our paths never crossed, never really thought about Her until She was gone actually."

"What Life Glass?" He asked attention pulled back from remembering Her.

"You know her Life Glass, the Glass that measures the seconds of her life. I mean when Katherine Brooks died, I told you it was a mess."

Raphael waited patiently.

"I'm sorry I shouldn't have said anything like that, it's like inside information." She said looking around furtively She lowered her voice "Okay but you have to like totally swear on...on the memory of your goddess that you won't tell anyone."

"I swear." Raphael said surprised.

"Okay ridiculously long story short, when Katherine Brooks died, Her Life Glass began stealing time, about ten months worth. Then Charity tries to kill Katherine, but she lives and Her Life Glass freezes in time."

Raphael felt himself pale. She had been with them a little over two months and she fought in Hell for almost eight, and if he was to add all the days up he would probably come up with ten months. "But that's..."

"Yeah I know, so okay here is where it like totally gets all weird and confusing with the whole time travel, Circle of Fate and Destiny thing." She said shaking her head. She looked at him as if this would clarify things which it didn't.

"Still clear as mud." He grumbled.

Her brow furrowed in confusion. "But mud is...oh I get it." She said with a smile. "Anyway, Katherine _was_ killed in the car accident. Trevor and Charity didn't die in their accidents just to let you know. Their injuries would not have killed them. They lived out their full lives on T'Lae-ran, and your goddess fixed things so that their bodies were found on Earth to give closure for the families." She shrugged. "Anyway Michael really did kill her, but the goddesses ripped her out of her world and threw her into another Destiny if you will, but it was her Fate to die in that crash that day."

Something clicked then. "She knew she was going to die." He said.

"Yup, there was a body in Katherine's grave so she knew she was going to die someday, but she wouldn't have known how or when."

"_I can't die until they stop fighting._' That' s what she said to us." He said in shock.

"Death knew. He knew he would collect her soul one day. So when she popped back into the same time and place were Katherine Brooks existed their souls synced, even though she wasn't _really _Katherine, the souls recognized each other and the Life Glass recognized the goddess' soul because she was totally cut off from all of her powers making her basically mortal." She took a breath and continued.

"So while the one Katherine was destined to be ripped from the world it meant that the other Katherine had to fulfill the role as the one who was killed. A soul for a soul, a body for a body. Her body didn't just disintegrate, it was put in the place of the other Katherine's body. The goddesses put right what they had interfered with." She shook her head."When Charity killed Katherine, Katherine had literally been living on stolen time. That is why when she emerged as your goddess she didn't know who Katherine was because her soul had already been stripped of its identity. And when she finally realized who she had been and what she was, well, to her Katherine would have just been yet another past life. A very close one, and one she may still have identified with, but she would have been...almost nameless really. " Mon said finally finishing.

"So it was really all my fault. If I hadn't have been there, she wouldn't have been distracted and she would have killed the Syna and she would have survived." He whispered.

But Mon was already shaking her head. "Might as well blame Gabriel, or the Apocalypse or any number of factors. She had to die that day. It was how she completed her Circle of Fate."

"So the Binding never would have killed her?" He asked.

Mon looked at him tapping her lips in thought. "Things worked out the way they were supposed to. But your goddess wouldn't have known how much sand was left in her Life Glass, don't get me wrong she felt it at the end, but she would probably have believed that the Binding is what closed her Circle of Fate. She knew she died, she wouldn't have thought that the _when_ would be important." She paused for a moment. "So what was she like?" She asked again.

He was silent for a bit. As he remembered the conversation in her Memory Room, she had told them that her soul was ringing with Katherine's and a _'Circle of Fate has begun to wrap itself around to the beginning'_. She knew, she had figured it out. He closed his eyes. He opened them and answered her question.

"She was funny and smart and patient and the best fighter I have ever seen. She was also incredibly annoying at times." He said smiling. But his smile disappeared when he remembered that she was really gone, no not gone, Destroyed.

"How could you love someone you found annoying?" Mon asked. "

"Humpf. Well for one thing you can't choose who you love." Raphael began, and she couldn't help but love all of them. That thought still ripped his heart to shreds.

"Well that seems stupid. What if you love someone you don't like?" She asked him.

Raphael sighed. "Listen kid, believe me when I say you wouldn't love them if you hated them. I only found her annoying because she was usually right, and I never liked being wrong." He said to her.

"Well she was a goddess, they tend to be right a lot."

"Yeah well, she got me. She understood me in ways my brothers never did. I think she knew me better than I knew myself." He whispered.

"That does sound annoying." She said finally.

"No that part was...she loved me, the good the bad and the ugly. To find someone like that," He shook his head. "She never wanted to change who I was. Even my temper, she accepted it as being part of who I was." He fell silent as grief washed through him. He didn't want to talk about Her anymore."So what are these Rhenna things?" He asked her.

She looked at him like she didn't want to drop the subject, but answered his question."The Rhenna are white...creatures, no white isn't right, more like...light creatures I guess. They look like they are lit from within. They come in various shapes and sizes. They are strong and fast and practically impossible to kill. They have been devouring souls and snatching Reapers for...well pretty much since your goddess' execution, give or take a few decades. They just appeared. No one knows where they came from, or where they go when they aren't stalking The Ways for souls and Reapers."

"So why hasn't anyone just killed them?" Raphael asked.

She sighed. "It's complicated." She said to him.

"I got nowhere I gotta be." Raphael said to her.

She shrugged. "You remember what I said before about the various Underworlds being linked?"

"Yeah." He said to her. He remembered he just didn't get it.

"Well the Underworld resides in the Realm of Death." She began.

"I remember, three Realms: gods, mortals and death." He said to her. "She could..." He stopped himself. He didn't want to talk about Her.

"Yeah your goddess was able to travel all three, which is very rare. You see most gods are forbidden from the Underworld. It has to do with gods of the living interfering with the gods of the dead. Most gods can walk on the mortal plain if they really want, but they have to either create a body or have one created for them, and really why would they want to?" She said with a shrug. "Anyway so this is a Realm of the Dead problem. So the other gods have pretty much said 'it sucks to be you, deal with it.'"

"Jerks." Raphael said.

"Tell me about it. Well anyway Heaven and Hell haven't been much help because most of their souls don't have a problem. Heaven has enough Angels to guard any souls Ascending from Limbo Level 1, and Hell has the shortest Reaper run because you are right there. It is more when you have to travel The Ways, which are basically the roads that link all of the Greater Underworld together. So the lesser Underworlds like Underworld 2 of T'Lae-ran, Valhalla, Hades' Underworld, not to mention all of the alien places of rest that have popped up all over the place, well you get the picture. Anyway it is all of those portions of the Underworld that are the ones whose souls are really being consumed." She grumbled. "I am just a Reaper, we're not fighters. I deliver souls, that's it, that is my job. At least I'll get danger pay, if I manage to get through this run alive." She mumbled.

"So what do you usually bring with you on these inter-world transfers? Grenades, high powered guns?" Raphael asked wondering what a Reaper would need money for.

She was looking at him like he was an idiot again. "We don't want to destroy The Ways." She shook her head. "Well a blanket for one." She said miserably. "A piece of chalk and the most important thing, bells."

"Bells?" He asked in surprise. "Okay blanket, I get, chalk equals protective circle-check, but bells, what are you going to do with those, annoy these things to death? Sing Christmas carols?" He asked.

She looked at him with narrowed eyes. "Are you sure that it was Her who was annoying and not you?" She asked.

"Haha, very funny." He said to her then stopped as a thought struck him. "Hey I thought all of you Reapers were like that one that grabbed me when I died, what did you call them, Shadow Reapers?" He remembered the memory of Goddess talking with Death.

"I don't really remember being a Shadow Reaper." She said to him. "But I remember picking this form and everything since then. Somehow we Reapers became...more." She said with a shrug.

"Hey wait, you have a body right?" He said to her.

She looked at him. "Yes." She said slowly.

"So how did you get it? And why are you tired?"

She shrugged. "One day I just became...aware, I guess, and I searched out a form that I enjoyed, I mean really , I am adorable. But our forms were created from our original shadow forms, we just got more solid. We are creatures of Death's Realm we are physical here. But it isn't like I have to eat, or sleep, but I can feel tired. It takes a lot of energy to navigate The Ways. You have to find the doors, open them, and make sure you close them behind you." She said with a shrug.

"So if I got myself a body I would be able to stay out of Underworld 2 right?"

"Raphael..." She began. Then stopped. She put a finger to her lips and listened.

Raphael closed his eyes and listened. He her a faint scritching sound. Mon's eyes widened in fear. "Get down!" She whispered pulling him more under the rock. "The blanket wasn't for me Raphael. It was for you and your bloody beacon of a glow!" She whispered angrily.


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

Mon slowly stood up and was trying to find the source of the noise. Raphael stared in front of him as white glowing creatures emerged from the darkness. Raphael himself was glowing, but these creatures were illuminating the darkness around them.

There seemed to be four of them. One let out a howl as it spotted him. Two looked like large dogs, or wolves he supposed. They were big as ponies, had wolf-like bodies, but their heads were flatter, snouts shorter, ears bigger, and they didn't have any eyes. The other two were more humanoid, one was unusually tall, about nine feet with long thin limbs, but no face, just a head. No eyes, nose, mouth, nothing It had huge clawed hands that swung back and forth with its whole body. Its moved as if it was made of jelly. The other one was shorter, rounder, faceless, but had the same clawed hands. This one seemed more solid somehow.

"Uh...Mon, I think they found us." Raphael whispered as she turned around. She gasped.

"Run!" She grabbed him as they ducked around to the other side of the rocks. They ran. The wolf-like Rhenna bayed and began chasing after them. The Jelly like Rhenna didn't move quite as fast, but the rounder stouter one didn't seem to have that problem. Mon pulled a short stick from somewhere. It elongated into a scythe, and it didn't look like the scythes that are usually drawn on TV and comics. It was a real reaping scythe, curved to fit the contour of the body with a short wooden vertical handle attached to the main body of the scythe. She scanned the horizon as if searching for something. "There is a door over there." She said pointing into the gloom beyond the floodlight-like light the Rhenna were producing. "If we can get through that door we might just be able to slow the Rhenna down, maybe, they don't really seem to have a problem getting through the doors, but it may be our only chance. The wolf like Rhenna were gaining as they attempted to get to the door. Jellj-Rhenna stepped in front of it. Apparently it was a slow starter but when it got moving it could move. They skidded to a stop and Mon dove out of the way of massive claws.

"This way!" Mon shouted as she scrambled up, grabbed him, and began running towards a rather large pile of rocks. "Climb!" She ordered. Unfortunately the wolf-Rhenna didn't seem to have a problem climbing the jagged rocky slope Mon was leading him up. They managed to scramble to the peak. "Jump!" She yelled.

"What! Are you crazy!" He yelled at her.

"Raphael you don't have a body, jump!" She yelled at him. She looked over her shoulder at the climbing Rhenna.

"What about you?" Raphael asked in a panic.

"I'll be right behind you!" She shouted.

Raphael didn't move. She turned and pushed him. He went over the side. And she was right he didn't feel anything as he went over hitting sharp jagged rocks. He also couldn't slow himself or stop because he couldn't grab anything. He hit the ground and he rolled to his feet as he watched as one of the Wolf Rhenna crested the rock. Mon had planted her feet shoulder width apart as she faced the Rhenna.

"Mon!" Raphael yelled as he tried to work his way back up the rocky hill.

A giant clawed hand batted Mon from the top of the hill. Mon flew through the air, her body crashing into rock and rolling to a stop just below him. Raphael scrambled back down the hill. She looked like she was hurt, badly. He tried to pick her up, but his hands went right through her. Mon opened her eyes and looked at him. She scrambled to her feet, grabbed her scythe and stood in front of him, protecting him.

She was battered and bloody. Raphael hadn't thought that Reapers could bleed, but apparently they could. Her teeth were clenched in pain. "There is only one way to get a body Raphael." She said slowly backing up out of the light of the Rhenna. The Rhenna didn't appear to be in any hurry, quietly and carefully they made their way down the side of the rocky hill. "You need to become Exo-Oourboros."

He looked at her startled. "Shouldn't we talk about this later?" Raphael whispered.

"Raphael, this isn't a decision to be taken lightly. I don't think She would have wanted this for you, but...I don't think She would have wanted you to be consumed either." She said ignoring him. She turned and gripped his arm tightly.

"Do you hear...bells?" Raphael asked. The Rhenna had stopped and appeared to be listening.

Mon paled and choked out a sob. She looked in horror at the approaching sound. "We don't have time Rapahel." She begged through tears. "To be Exo-Ouroboros is to be outside the Great Cycle. The cycle of life and death and rebirth. You will be stripped of this, you will never have any peace. You will never be allowed into your place of rest. Ever. But if you stay here with me...you will be Consumed. I just can't bear that thought." She slowly turned towards the sound that was coming from behind them. A dark shape darker than the surrounding darkness was coming through the mist, and it was coming fast. Bells rang through the silence like a death knell. She scrambled around so that she was protecting him from whatever was coming, as if whatever was coming through the dark was more frightening than the Rhenna.

"Mon, what's..." He began.

"If you want a body you will have to fight for it Raphael, one way or the other."

"I'll do whatever it takes, help me help you Mon." He said desperately.

The bells toned closer.

"Say, I desire to be Exo-Ouroboros." She whispered tearfully.

He looked over his shoulder at the Rhenna. One of the Wolf ones was crouching back to pounce.

"I desire to be Exo-Ouroboros!" He yelled.

Shackles appeared on his arms and legs.

"I'm sorry Raphael, so sorry, but at least I got to know you. Sacrificing yourself isn't as glamorous as I thought it would be...it's terrifying" She said as he felt himself fade. He saw as the Rhenna leapt at Mon, jaws and fangs honing in for the kill, something leaping from the dark, the sound of Mon screaming and his decent into nothingness.

* * *

Raphael's head hurt, which he supposed was better than it not hurting, because not hurting meant that he still didn't have a body. He opened his eyes and looked around. He looked like he was in some sort of cell with grey stone and mortar walls, and, a metal door with a small peep hole covered with bars. He sat up and looked at the heavy manacles and chains that were locked around his wrists and ankles. He felt more solid but he didn't look any more solid. He got up off the cot and shambled over to the door. He began banging on it. At least he could touch things again. "Let me out of here!" he yelled furious. Then he stopped when he remembered Mon. She had saved him. Something had got her, be it Rhenna or whatever else had emerged from the dark. She was another person he had failed. The thought hurt. He had failed again.

"So you're awake are you." A voice that sounded vaguely Australian, said to him through the door.

He heard keys rattling in the lock. Raphael got ready. He knew he would have to fight his way out from wherever he was. The door opened and he charged the person coming in. At least that had been his intention but he had stayed in place. His feet and wrists felt as if they were chained to the floor. "What the...?" Raphael asked himself as he looked up at the surfer who walked through the door.

"Welcome welcome, hope you had a good rest mate, it'll probably be the last you get of that in a long while." He said with a beaming white grin. He was 30ish, tall, and lanky with darkly tanned skin and shaggy, chin length, sun-kissed blonde hair. Dark blue eyes the same colour as his Hawaiian shirt twinkled happily. Khaki shorts and sandals completed the whole surfer impression. He shoved bedding and a change of clothes at him. "I wouldn't try anything if I were you, just saying, hard to get anywhere in this place without a solid body." He said pointing to the manacles. Raphael looked at the manacles wondering if they were what was making him solid at the moment.

"Anyway my name is Samael," He said pointing to his Hello My Name Is... name tag. "I'll be your orientation leader for the next few hours. I'll give you a run down on how things go in The Pit and if you have any questions I'll try to answer..." He looked at him and blinked. "You're one of Them." He said with surprise. Raphael groaned inwardly. "Wow are you ever going to be in for it." He said shaking his head. "Bad choice man. Shouldn't have chosen to become Exo-Ouroboros if I were you." He shrugged. "Oh well too late now."

"Okay...Samael, hows about you tell me what is going on?" Rapahel said evenly. "How about starting with how I can get out of here and help the Reaper that was taking me through The Ways when we were attacked by Rhenna. She is in trouble and I need to find a way to help her." He growled.

"No can do turtle man." He said with a shake of his shaggy haired head. "If the Reaper was stuck in The Ways with Rhenna, It's a gonner. You've been here for like twelve hours."

"Twelve hours!" He yelled.

"What, you think giving an insubstantial soul a little bit of tangibility is easy and fast? Boy have you got a lot to learn." He said sauntering over to Raphael's slab of wood that served as a cot. He slumped down on it looking right at home. "You better have a seat, this may take a while." He looked at him through lazy lidded eyes.

"Her name was Mon, not It." Raphael growled as he slumped next to his 'Orientation Leader'.

He shrugged. "All Reapers are Its. Some of them look human, but really they are neither male or female, no matter what they look like." He paused in thought then shrugged. "But you never know, things could change." He said with a musing smile.

Raphael glared at him. "So are you going to explain things or not?" He growled.

Samael looked at him with a raised brow. "You must have been one of the angry ones."

Raphael dragged a hand down his face in frustration. "Yes, I was one of the angry ones, just get on with it." The more information Raphael had the better he would be able to figure out how to get his revenge. Collecting information wasn't really his thing, it was more Donatello and Leonardo's thing, but he had learned to be patient, and that knowledge, really was power.

Samael shrugged. "You have chosen to become Exo-Ouroboros, which means you are outside the Great Circle. Anyway you are now in The Pit, and no, not Hell. We call this place The Pit, because it is like a tiny bit of Hell for those unfortunate enough to end up here." He paused for dramatic effect then shrugged when Raphael remained silent. "It's official name is The Arena. It is located in a section of the Underworld that straddles The Realm of Death and The Realm of the Gods. It is basically the gods playground, and you will be their entertainment."

"I thought that there was some sort of thing against the gods of the living mixing with the gods of the dead?" Raphael asked.

"Very true, but this part of the Greater Underworld is technically part of both realms and part of neither. They built a city around The Golden Goddess' Castle. The magic of that Castle sustains the city of Darkrealm. You see that Castle existed, like The Golden Goddess, in three plains of existence at once. When The Golden Goddess was Destroyed the castle lost its...Master if you will. The Castle is almost sentient, well for all we know it is sentient. Diemortia and Dielucere won't go near it. It no longer exists within the mortal realm but still straddles the other two plains. So the gods thought it would be a great place to gather, kick back, have some fun, see and be seen. That sort of thing. Hence Darkrealm came into existence." He said with a smile.

"Now that the history lesson is done, I'll explain to you your role in this lovely place." He said spreading his arms wide. "Now in becoming Exo-Ouroboros you need to have a body to interact with anything here. There are two ways to accomplish this. You have to decide whether you want to become a slave to the gods, or fight in The Pit. Now before you decide," Samael waved his hand cutting Raphael off as he opened his mouth. "You should hear the pros and cons of each. Now, with being a slave you are sold to the highest bidder of course. A pro to being a slave is that you acquire a tangible body instantaneously after you are bought. Con, you are a slave for all of eternity. You can be bought and sold and traded, well you get the picture, and the god and or goddess, deity etc, can do with you what they will."

"Who would actually choose to become a slave?" Raphael asked with disgust.

"Those who think the alternative is even worse." Samael said seriously. "Option two is to fight in The Pit. A god, goddess, deity etc, will purchase you as their 'representative'. Again you become the property of said purchaser. But you will have to earn your body by winning. The stronger your owner and the more wins you have, the faster you come to gaining tangibility. But as property your owner can do to you whatever they wish until you gain full tangibility. When this happens you are free, if you manage to survive that is." He said grimly.

"What do you mean survive? Mon said it was almost impossible to destroy a mortal soul."

"True, and battling with souls is half the fun for the gods because they can be horribly injured and keep going. The newbie fights aren't very interesting for most of the gods to watch because you are so intangible, but the more you fight, the more you win, the more you will hurt. Souls are hard to destroy, but you can still break a soul, and a soul can be destroyed by a Destroyer, or consumed by a Consumer."

"Difference between the two?" Raphael asked.

"A Destroyer god is the rarest. Destroyers can be Consumers but Consumers cannot be Destroyers. The Golden Goddess was a Destroyer and a Consumer. Even when The Golden Goddess consumed souls, she was destroying them. A Consumer devours souls but they aren't destroyed. Basically the Consumer feeds off of the soul and the soul can be released when the Consumer is killed. Depending how long the soul was inside the Consumer it can walk away fine, or it will be nothing but an empty husk."

Raphael nodded his understanding."If I fight, how long will it take to be free, if I win, say a lot?" He asked. He needed to be free to get his revenge. Not that being a slave would have even crossed his mind as being a good idea.

Samael looked at him speculatively. "If you got a powerful god and you won a lot...probably around 100 or so years, and that is if you got one of** the **most powerful gods. Most of the fighters here have been here for millennia. But with you, I don't think you are going to last long out there. Sorry mate, but just tellin' it like it is."

"And why is that?" He asked. "I know how to fight." He growled. _100 years!_ He screamed in his head. There had to be a better way, he just had to find it.

"Because of who you are. The Golden Goddess had a lot of enemies. Some are still angry that she is gone and they are unable to get their revenge upon her. Hard to hurt someone who is Extinguished. Now that you are here everyone knows how much she loved you and your brothers. If they can't hurt her, they will get their revenge through you." He said grimly. "Your only hope would be to get someone really powerful and who didn't have a grudge against The Golden Goddess, and chances of that happening, not so good." Samael stood up and stretched. "Well I think that is all I can tell you. Any questions?" He asked.

Raphael looked at Samael. "Why does your name sound like a demon's name?" He asked.

Samael looked shocked at the question but smiled. "Because I am a demon." He said happily. Raphael's eyes narrowed. "We aren't all bad you know." His eyes turned serious. "I couldn't repay a debt, so I was sent here to oversee the 'entertainment'."

Raphael asked, voice low and angry. "So what do you really look like under there?"

Samael grinned darkly at him. "That is rather personal." He said with a smile. He looked at Raphael and sat back down. "You really don't get why they wanted her Extinguished do you?" He asked seriously.

Raphael looked at him surprised. "Mon said it was because the gods feared her."

"True but did your Reaper tell you why they feared her?" Raphael shook his head. "She held not one but two, very powerful goddesses within her and used their power to become an even more powerful goddess. For the record, Diemortia and Dielucere are Consumers, not Destroyers, wrap your head around that one." Samael said to him shaking his head.

"As a goddess of magic she was much more powerful than Diemortia and Dielucere. I suppose it could be argued that they are two goddesses instead of one, but the fact remains that she was scary powerful. This is frightening all on its own, but what she was able to _do_," He shook his head. "For the gods, that was what was terrifying." Raphael looked at him in confusion.

"She wasn't a goddess of change, she should not have had any power to change things but she did. She made things...more than they were. She changed Hell. She started with Lucifer. She made Lucifer feel love for a human. Lucifer hated humans, and don't get me wrong, he still did and does, all except Her. But from there, it was like a domino effect. When she destroyed most of Hell's legions the first time, the demons that began to emerge were...different. They were no longer old testament type demons, many of the demons were...more. They were torn in their natures, still evil, but perhaps not as evil. That is why K'emeth began the civil war in Hell. He sensed it was Lucifer from which this difference came from. But it wasn't Lucifer, it was Her. When the Civil War was over, and she was Destroyed, demons were suddenly being born. Demons are not born, they are created from all of the horrible, dark, evil thoughts and actions of humanity. These demons were different. They were able to choose their path. They could be evil, or they could be good. Feel emotions other that greed and hate and anger. She changed the very dynamic of Hell. As there are dark angels in Heaven so too were there now light demons in Hell. She gave demons the ability to Fall, or rather Ascend."

"If this were not bad enough she caused an Archangel to Fall, she made Death _feel_, which caused the Reapers to become more than just shadows. It was like if she believed something, she could make it true. Humans control the fate of the gods through their belief. If mortals believe it strongly enough and there is enough belief it can become true. But she was like millions of mortals all wrapped up in one package. That is why they Destroyed her. The fact that she destroyed millions of demon souls at once didn't help her cause either." he said grimly.

Raphael felt a his emotions roll through him. He looked at the demon next to him who was lost in his own thoughts.

Samael suddenly stood up and clapped his hands. "So now that your orientation is complete you will have to change into the clothes that I gave you. Everything becomes the property of your soon to be owner." Samael touched his manacles and the chains disappeared from his wrists and feet. Raphael shrugged pulling off his trench coat which was still blue. He tossed it onto the floor. His fedora was tossed onto the floor and he pulled off his shirt next. Samael had bent down and picked something up that had fallen from his coat.

"How did..." He began and looked at Raphael in shock. In Samael's hands he held the two pictures he had carried with him until the day he died, and Her bow, which looked like an empty scabbard. "Oh Hells no." Samael exclaimed as he dropped what was in his hands. Samael grabbed his shirt from the floor and threw it back at him. "Put it back on, now!" Samael looked around. He grabbed the clothing he had given him. "Put this on quickly."

The clothing Samael gave him kinda reminded him of prison garb. It was blue like he was and made of something, probably cotton. He shucked his pants and changed into the new pair. Someone banged on the door. "Hey Samael what are you doing in there? You still have 6 more orientations to do and the second last match of the day is almost over."

"Just finishing up with this one, he's havin a hard time choosing between terrible and terribler." Samael said with mock laughter.

"Now listen to me." Samael said in a low whisper when whoever was banging on the door departed. "You shouldn't have that. Crap and damn, I didn't know She actually chose a Consort. No that doesn't make any sense if She had you'd be a god, probably, maybe, no one has ever chosen a mortal as Consort before. Damn, I've never seen a mark like that, that wasn't attached to a Consort." Samael paced as Raphael looked at him in confusion and shock. Raphael remembered her confusion at what she had done to him. Apparently it was more significant than even She had believed. Although apparently no one else knew what it was either. "Any of your brothers have this mark?"

Raphael shook his head. "Only me."

"Did she tell you what it was?"

Raphael shook his head again. "All she said was that 'she left a kiss on my soul"

"You bear Her mark, do not let anyone see that, ever, you hear me! If they believe for a minute that somehow Her power rests within you, you will be Extinguished do I make myself clear." He said urgently. Raphael nodded surprised. "There is power in that mark." He said shaking his head.

He grabbed his photos and scabbard from the floor. "I don't know how you managed to get these, but they will become the property of your owner." He held out the photographs. "These are worth a lot. Memographs of Her are rare, memographs with you guys in them, nonexistent. You will have to hope that whoever your owner is, lets you keep them." Raphael took the 'Memographs'.

"I didn't even know I had these." He whispered as he looked at the two Memographs. The first one was a picture of all of them. Goddess was in the middle arms around himself and Leonardo who was scowling at Her. Michelangelo was beside him, Donatello beside Leonardo. They were all standing, Goddess' wings looked like She was enveloping all of them.

The second Memograph was a candid shot of her on Belvedere Castle. She was looking out over the lake deep in thought. It had been his favourite of Her, mostly because it showed what he had never really realized until the end. That She was so very alone. He wanted to take a picture of he and Her together, but the memory had hurt too much, She had never ended up with him in the end, and it had hurt too much at the time, it still hurt.

"And this, gods how did you even get this here?" He said looking at the scabbard. "This bow has been lost for a millennia, along with Her armour and swords."

"I thought the goddesses took Her armour and swords?" Raphael said, confused as Samael wrapped the scabbard up in his trench coat almost like he was hiding it.

Samael shook his head. "Diemortia and Dielucere have their own weapons. Those were Hers. Gods have searched everywhere for the armour and swords of the Golden Goddess. Those weapons are legendary. They are incredibly powerful. This bow, not as powerful, but still very valuable if only because it was Hers." He touched the manacles again and the chains that bound his wrists and legs together re-appeared.

"What's a Memograph?" Raphael asked as Samael held out his hand for the Memographs. Raphael reluctantly gave them to him. He had nowhere where he could even hide them.

"Memographs and memovids are like your photographs and videos, but instead of being recorded by technology they are recorded by your memory. It will take too long to explain right now. If you manage to survive until tonight, I will come back and answer some more of your questions okay." Samael turned and walked to the door taking his possessions with him.

"Why are you doing this?" Raphael asked him. He got the impression that Samael had given him special treatment.

"Because of Her." He turned and left. He heard the click of a lock.

* * *


	6. Chapter 6

Another long chapter =S LOL hope you enjoy! Please read and review!

* * *

Chapter 6

Raphael listened. He had been hearing something but he hadn't really been paying attention. Now that Samael was gone he realized it was the sound of voices. Millions of voices raised in shouting. It was faint and muffled but he could still hear it. He sat back on his wooden cot and thought about everything that Samael had told him.

He didn't know how long he sat there for, but he heard the click of a lock and his door opened. He stood up as a guard walked, okay, not walked, slithered in. This guard looked like a demon, or maybe it wasn't. There had been the faint smell of sulphur when Samael was around, but this demon smelled more like a lake or a spring. He watched as she slithered in. Whatever it was it was female with four arms and from the waist down, she had the body of a snake. She was armoured and wore a helm on her head. In one set of arms she held a spear, her empty hands grabbed him and began pulling him from the cell. Raphael stumbled but the woman held him up. "Slave or Gladiator?" She asked.

"Gladiator." He said with disgust.

He was led down a low dark hallway. Other cells were opening now and other souls were being escorted by more creatures like the woman guard.

"Okay people look sharp, this is your big day." A man laughed darkly at them as he passed. He had the same voice as the person who had stopped outside his cell when he was talking with Samael. Raphael studied him, he looked human but you could never really tell. He wasn't very tall, a little taller than Raphael was and had the build of someone he would associate with the military,or a football player, but who had let himself go a little. He had reddish brown hair and brown eyes. It was the eyes that got you though. There was something about them, a craftiness and maliciousness, and a cruelty that lent lie to his jovial expression.

Samael appeared next to him. He gave him a speaking glance then looked at the man as if telling him to watch out for that one. Samael walked a little ahead and stopped next to the man.

"My name is Gaius Julius Caesar Augustus Germanicus, but you can just call me Caligula." He said with a cruel smile.

"Now you lot have chosen to become gladiators, so here is how it is going to be. I will be your warden, your jailer, and your disciplinarian." He said with a malicious grin. "Your new Masters are awaiting outside of that entryway, but always remember this, I will always be your Master in here." Menace dripped from every word. "Samael here will give you the rest of your instructions." He said as he turned on his heel and left walking down a corridor. Light streamed through the entranceway. Before there had been a roar of people, now it was oddly silent.

"Alrighty, here is how this works. Right now the slaves are being purchased which is why is it so quiet. Think of it like a silent auction." He said looking down the line of would be gladiators."Now, if no one wants to be your patron you will automatically become a slave and you will have to wait until the next time the slaves get put up for sale." Raphael looked down the row of soon to be gladiators. He was not the only non-human, and the only reason he could identify the orc and troll in the line was because of Michelangelo's stupid RPG games he made him play. The other four souls were human, and none of them looked anything less than vicious.

Raphael turned his attention back to Samael. "Each one of you will be brought forward, if a patron claims you please step back into the line. Any who are not claimed will be escorted out of The Pit. Now we just wait."

Samael wandered back to him. "You, down to the end." He said pointing at Raphael. Raphael looked down the line and shuffled his way to the back of the line.

A horn of some sort blew. "We're up." Samael said as he motioned for the guards to start escorting them into The Pit.

They all shuffled forward. The light hit Raphael full in the face. He lifted his hands up to block the sun, or suns because there were two. One was massive and red, the other was smaller and yellow, more like the sun on Earth. He looked around and saw an arena that made the roman coliseum look like a poor shadow in comparison. It was massive. There were literally millions in the stands.

He looked at the crowd. There were too many to really get an idea of what or who they were, but his eyes rose to the top tiers. That looked to be where the high rollers were sitting. There were thousands of private boxes, some had curtains drawn, others were open to view the scene below. Attendants or possibly slaves scurried to do the bidding of the occupants in the boxes. Raphael's eyes were drawn to the box in center of the arena. It was bigger and more lavish than any of the other boxes. Black, blue and purple curtains blew in the wind. The curtains were drawn, but you could just manage to catch a glimpse every now and then of figures in the box talking to someone. Flags flapped in the wind on all of the boxes. The one in the middle had a black flag with a double crescent moon, with the points pointing up and down. Raphael scanned the flags for a familiar symbol and stopped when he found it. The burgundy flag with gold double ravens in a golden ring, feathers scattering. He looked at Diemortia and Dielucere in shock. Those were not the goddesses he remembered from Her Soul Room. They sat together with a man between them. He ignored the man and instead looked at the twin goddesses. They looked like negatives of each other. One with black hair, the other with white, which is what they had been before, but now both had a silver set of curling horns, black tipped feathered wings, and if they had tails Raphael was too far away to tell. Diemortia's legs and hands were human, and both wore matching gowns of midnight blue.

"I know, they don't look the same as they did." Samael whispered to him. As the first gladiator stepped forward. Caligula was apparently the orator for their 'sale.' "Not too unusual for gods to change form, but still another strike against The Golden Goddess." Samael looked at the goddesses. "They are probably your best bet. They are powerful and currently don't have a gladiator fighting for them. Although you will technically belong to only one of them."

"Who is the guy between them?" He whispered back as the first would be gladiator stepped back in line. Next the orc was snapped up uncontested by some god or other.

"Their husband Selryth God of Chaos"

"He's married to both of them?" Raphael said shocked.

"Yeah, lucky bastard. They are kinda a package deal now. Having more than one husband or wife is extremely rare, but not unheard of. They still rank above him though so like I said, one of them is your best bet." He whispered

"I think I want the big bad hiding in that box up there." Raphael whispered back to him. "I am guessing that the big kahuna of this place is hiding in there." He said pointing to the central box.

"You don't want the patronage of that god." He whispered. "That one never pays any attention to what is going on here, which is better for everyone. No one, god or otherwise wants that god's attention. Although there are some still stupid enough to try."

"So that's the biggest baddest motherering god out there huh?" He asked.

"So scary, that that one is probably even more powerful than The Golden Goddess, though it is hard to say for sure. No one has ever seen that god fight." Samael said in a fearful voice.

Raphael stared at the closed curtains. As he and Samael had been talking two would be gladiators were rejected, the troll taken by a patron. The gladiator next to him took a step forward. The crowd that had been silent before began to whisper, and the whispering was beginning to get louder. The gladiator next to him was hauled off and Samael nudged him forward. Raphael stood forward and the whispering turned into a roar of voices.

The curtains of the big kahuna's box opened. Seated on a white marble throne was a goddess. This surprised Raphael because he was expecting a god. What Raphael had first thought were attendants seemed to actually be other gods and goddesses. They bowed to the goddess on the stone throne and departed the box heading quickly to their own boxes. Raphael studied the goddess sitting on the throne as Caligula called The Arena to order. She sat perfectly straight, arms flat on the arms of the throne. Her feet flat on the ground, knees together. She was wrapped in rich black, blue and purple robes. The only skin that was visible was her neck and bottom half of her face. His eyes travelled to her face. She was wearing an elaborate black headdress that bore the white double crescent moons in the centre. Blue and purple piping were also worked into the design of the headdress that looked vaguely Egyptian. Her hair and ears, were completely covered by the head dress. The top half of her face was obscured by a silver visor of some sort. All that was visible were her lips, jaw and chin.

Raphael wondered how she could even see since the visor literally covered her eyes, no eye slits nothing, just a solid piece of metal.

Raphael turned his attention back to the rest of the stands. The goddess Diemortia had stood signalling she was interested in being his patron. Or patroness he corrected. There had been several other gods and goddesses who had stood but who were now sitting down. Diemortia and another god were the only two left standing.

"Who is that?" Raphael whispered to Samael who was standing behind him.

"Heterion" He whispered.

"God of Nightmares." Raphael growled.

"Diemortia may choose to sit." Samael whispered.

"I thought they were stronger." Raphael whispered back. He knew that Heterion was one god he didn't want as his patron.

"They are very evenly matched, she may be slightly stronger, but she is much stronger with her sister, and they can't both be your patron.

Raphael swallowed as Diemortia looked at something and began to sit.

"Sorry mate." Samael whispered as bells sounded.

The crowd that had reached an almost fevered pitch of excitement was silenced.

Raphael's gaze tried to locate the sound of the bells. Bells which tolled like a death knell. Bells that he had heard before. Bells which struck fear into the heart of Mon. When his gaze passed over the large central box he realized that the goddess had stood.

Heterion looked at the goddess. He did not sit.

"What happens if two gods want the same gladiator?" Raphael whispered.

"Unlike the slaves, where it is just a money thing, the gladiators are a prestige and power thing. If Heterion does not sit, they will fight." Samael whispered.

Diemortia was already in her seat, all eyes watched in silence as Heterion slowly sat. As Heterion sat Raphael felt a small trickle of power flowing into him. It was cold, and bleak and empty.

Raphael looked at Samael who looked pale beneath his tan. Raphael stepped back looking at his new patron. She sat down on her throne, and the curtains of her box closed.

A tidal wave of noise crashed and flowed around them as if a dam had broken. The snake women slithered out and began escorting them back to their cells.

Raphael was escorted to his cell. The door slammed behind him. His thoughts were a riot of emotions. He shuffled over to his cot and sat. His cell was completely empty except for his bedding. He grabbed the pillow and lay down. He stared at the ceiling for what seemed like an eternity as the questions of who the goddess was; Why had Mon and Samael been so terrified of her; and why had she stood? Danced through his head.

* * *

The screaming he had been listening to for the past several hours finally seemed to have stopped. He didn't know who was screaming or why they were screaming, but the silence was a relief.

He didn't know if it was still daytime or if night had finally fallen. He looked at his door as he heard the click of a lock.

Samael entered carrying his belongings and what looked like a case of beer.

"If anyone asks I came in here to taunt you and make you aware of all of the horrible torturous things that Caligula is going to do to you, got it?" He said in a quiet voice.

Raphael nodded and sat up. Samael walked over to him and gave him his coat and other pieces of clothing. Wrapped up in the coat was his scabbard and his photos or Memographs or whatever the hell they were called. He looked at his stuff in surprise and relief. He opened his coat and took out the memographs. He closed his eyes and clutched them to his chest. He looked at Samael.

Samael shrugged. "Your patron was not interested in your belongings. Didn't even bother to look at them." He said with a shrug. "Truthfully most people don't really have much with them anymore. Been thinking about it, and you must have been buried with all of it. Only way you could have taken it with you."

"Gee and I thought they always said you can't take it with you." Raphael said sarcastically.

Samael smiled and sat down on the cot next to him. "You can't. But this stuff, they are godly items, those you can bring with you." He set the case of beer on the floor, pulled one out and cracked it open. "I'd offer, but you can't eat or drink anything till you get a body." He said as he took a swig. He leaned his head against the stone wall and closed his eyes.

So many questions were swimming around in Raphael's head he wasn't sure where to even start. He tucked the memographs back into his coat.

"Those are the same bells I heard when I was with Mon." Raphael said finally. "Who is this goddess that everyone is so afraid of? I had always thought it was the gods who were the power houses, not the goddesses."

Samael looked at him. "The Reapers carry bells when they travel The Ways. You must have heard the Reaper's bells, of course no matter how many different bells they try, they can never quite get the tone right, still, makes the Rhenna stop and listen, gives the Reapers a chance to get away." Samael said to him as he took another swig.

Raphael shook his head. "Mon didn't have any bells. She heard the bells and was terrified, more terrified of the sound of those bells than of the Rhenna."

Samael paused the beer halfway to his lips. "Huh, must have been her then. Reapers are scared to death of her. Can't blame them really." He mused then looked Raphael in the eye. "If you were there, you must have caught her attention. I'm surprised you are still alive."

"Samael, spill it already, what is it with you immortals and always dancing around the questions? Just who am I dealin' with here?"

Samael looked at him seriously. "Marwolaeth Yn Annwyl."

"Marwolie-th en Annwheel? What the hell kind of name is that!"

"Welsh. And it's not her name, just her title."

"What do you mean title, what is her name?" Raphael asked in frustration.

He shrugged and leaned forward, beer forgotten in his hand. "No one knows what her name is, or if she even has one. Her title means Death's Beloved."

"So what, she's Deaths wife?" He asked surprised.

Samael shook his head. "More like a companion. I don't think Death can actually take a wife, never really thought about it really. All I know is that she resides in Death's domain." He looked at Raphael.

Raphael clenched his hands in frustration. "So why is everyone so afraid of her, especially the Reapers?" He asked.

"Mostly because no one knows who she is." He said softly. "The Reapers have their own issues with her." He took another swig of beer as if trying to decide where to start.

"So why doesn't anyone ask her?" Raphael asked impatiently.

Samael looked at him as if he was insane. "Who is going to ask her?" He looked at his nearly finished bottle of beer and downed the rest. He placed the bottle back in its case and pulled out another one. "Thing is, just because you are a god doesn't mean you get an audience with her. It would be like...a scullery maid getting an audience with the King and asking him, 'hey you, why are you King? Most of the Angels in Heaven have never met God, most demons in Hell have never met Lucifer. They are on the top of the social pile, it just doesn't happen." He said shaking his head.

"Whoever she is, she is ancient and very powerful." Samael began. "See the thing is that ancient doesn't usually equal powerful. Most ancient gods and deities are rather weak because they have been forgotten. A god's power is dependent upon the strength of belief, as well as the quantity of worshippers. The fewer the worshippers, the less powerful the god. Her," He shook his head. "She is so powerful she has to be something that is...believed in so completely and absolutely, that she doesn't even have to be named to be worshipped and has not been Named. Must not have a pantheon that has subverted her power either. Does that make sense to you?" Samael asked. Raphael shook his head.

"Okay think of it this way. Most of the creation gods, the ones who start the pantheons tend to wind up in a bad way. They are always overthrown usually by their own offspring. For example Gaia, who was the Greek goddess of the Earth, had a husband Ouranos, who was oddly enough also her son, but we really won't go there," Samael said at the look of disgust on Raphael's face. "Anyway, so Gaia had children and it was one of these children that overthrew Ouranos. His name was Chronos, who was then overthrown by Zeus. Now because Ouranos was overthrown it means that his power, pretty much gone. Gaia is still around but she has no pull. But when you think about it Gaia should be powerful, like really powerful because everyone on Earth believes, if not specifically in Gaia, but in what she is, i.e. Earth. But she's not powerful cause she's a goddess for one, and the goddesses just aren't that powerful, and she was dethroned by her own pantheon. Make more sense?"

Raphael just shrugged. He was sure either Leonardo or Donatello would get it, he was still a little unclear. "So basically you are telling me the high rollers of the pantheons lost their power because they were dethroned?"

Samael looked at him and blinked. "If you want to really simplify it...Yeah, we'll go with that."

"And the goddesses aren't powerful because?" Raphael asked.

"Because the human societies that thought them up are patriarchal." Samael looked at him. "Ruled by men. Don't get me wrong there are some powerful goddesses out there, Kali, The Golden Goddess, Deimortia and Dielucere, Sekhemet, was pretty powerful before she became Inket-Mah-Se-Ah, the thing is that they usually never lead the pantheons. Until now anyway. It used to be that the gods would hold the position above their wives no matter how strong the wife, not anymore. And no one can dispute the fact that whatever Marwolaeth Yn Annwyl is, she is the strongest most powerful something, the godly plain has seen in a good long time."

"Again, why not just ask her what she is, and who she is? She had to have gotten into that position somehow. I can't imagine a bunch of gods sitting around and being 'oh, you look strong, you should be in charge.' So what did she do that made them think she was so powerful?"

"She has...Voice." Samael said simply.

"I will take that beer bottle and bash it over your head if you don't start making sense real soon." Raphael growled.

"Do you know who Metatron is?" He asked.

"The Transformers bad guy?" Raphael asked confused.

Samael looked at him in confusion then blinked. "That was Megatron." He said with exasperation. "Metatron is the closest angel to God. He is basically the Voice of God. God's Voice is so great that basically if a mortal ever heard the Voice of God, their brain would melt into a little puddle of goo. It isn't that the gods can't walk the mortal plain without a mortal body, they can, but their divine forms are so great that humans basically spontaneously combust. This is not a good thing." Samael took a final swig and put the empty back grabbing another. Raphael was a little envious, he could go for a beer right about now, or at least he felt like he should, but Samael was right, he wasn't even thirsty and he didn't even want the beer.

"So anyway, your new patron Marwolaeth Yn Annwyl has a Voice that melts the brains of gods, into little puddles of goo. Not like this can kill them, but still very uncomfortable having your ears begin to bleed, your eyes explode, well you get the picture." Another pause for a swig then Samael continued."A god removed her visor and looked into her eyes once, whatever he saw, he went insane. It has been speculated that she is blind, but no one knows for sure. Her touch, don't let her touch you. She is so cold that she will freeze you to death within seconds. Even Jack Frost himself can't touch her. Also she is a Destroyer, a Destroyer of the souls of gods. Only The Golden Goddess was ever able to Destroy the souls of the gods, and none have ever appeared since, except for your new patroness."

"Thing is Marwolaeth Yn Annwyl usually never pays any attention to what goes on around her. The gods and goddesses that attempt to gain her favour, she just ignores. She is only at The Arena because she is the highest ranking god. The only thing she ever takes notice of is the Rhenna in The Ways. Which comes back to your question about the Reapers. Marwolaeth Yn Annwyl kills Reapers and Destroys souls. Not all the time, but if a Reaper or a soul comes to her attention she usually Destroys it. Why, no one knows. Sometimes she ignores them, sometimes she kills the Reaper and leaves the soul, sometimes she Destroys the soul and leaves the Reaper. There doesn't seem to be any particular reason, or none that any have ever figured out anyway."

"So Death is okay with her Killing his Reapers and Destroying souls?" Raphael asked in shock.

Samael shrugged. "Even if he wasn't, I don't think he could do anything against her. Maybe he knows something we don't."

"So why is she Death's companion anyway?"

"Probably because Death is the only one she can touch and speak to. He IS death, can't freeze him to death, can't melt brains he doesn't have."

"So Mon was scared of Marwolaeth...don't they call her anything else, something more pronounceable?" Raphael growled in frustration as he tried wrapping his head around everything Samael had told him.

Samael shrugged. "As Andora was also known as the Golden Goddess, Marwolaeth Yn Annwyl is also known as The Destroyer."

"Gee that makes me feel so much better." Raphael grumbled. "So Mon was scared of The Destroyer because this goddess doesn't help the Reapers, not purposefully, rather she Kills Rhenna and if a Reaper happens to benefit, good for the Reaper."

"Pretty much." Samael said.

"Wait, what do you mean the people who created the gods?" Raphael asked.

Samael rubbed his temples. "Theology 101, all you need to know is that man or whatever particular planet you are talking about, created the gods, and therefore the gods created man. Chicken, egg, both came first." Samael looked thoughtful. "And before the gods, before man, before life, there was nothing."

Samael reached down and plucked his memographs from his coat. "Memographs are valuable because it takes a massive amount of power to create one. It pulls the picture straight from the memory. Once that memory is taken, it is gone. Even if you looked at the memograph, to you, it would be blank. But some memories are worth money. We don't have cameras that record images or videos. So like I said memographs are valuable. They can be sold and reclaimed though. So if you sold a memory and you managed to purchase it back you could take it back into yourself and the memovid or memograph would disapear. Make sense?"

Raphael nodded as Samael stood to leave. "We had a whole album of these." Raphael said more to himself than to Samael, but obviously samael had heard because he gave him a strange look. "So were you one of these born demons?" Raphael asked suddenly.

Samael shook his head. "I was in Hell when The Golden Goddess destroyed most of Lucifer's army the first time. I watched Her fight in the Civil War." He paused and looked at his clenched hand as if feeling some strong emotion. "She, who almost left Hell a smoking ruin, She, who almost became a Queen in Hell, She, who loved Lucifer, She who sacrificed everything that She was, to save Earth...saved Hell. She saved the lives of millions of demons, and saved Lucifer." He shook his head.

"She was almost a Queen of Hell?" Rapahel asked shocked.

He smiled a wry smile at him. "Twice. Do you not think that Lucifer would have tried to bind her to him the first time she was in Hell? When he found out who she was during the Civil Wa,r do you think he would ever let her go?" Samael asked him.

Raphael growled. "She would never have let him touch her."

Samael smiled and shrugged. "Just sayin' if she hadn't have sacrificed herself, she may have been a Queen of Hell right now. He loved her, loved her more than anything. Of course he may have loved her enough to let her go as well." he said softly." Hard to say." Samael stood and walked to the door.

Samael stopped at the door and looked at Raphael over his shoulder. "Watch out for Caligula. When he said he was Master here, he wasn't joking. He loves to torture the gladiators."

"But I thought we are the property of our patrons?" Raphael asked, trying to get thoughts of his goddess with Lucifer out of his head.

"You are. But you see sometimes the gods get displeased when their gladiators lose. Sometimes the gods enjoy punishing, or as they would say 'encouraging' their gladiators not to lose. Sometimes they get Caligula to do it for them, sometimes they like watching Caligula. He has had many millennia experience in the fine art of torture. But sometimes he gets bored and will randomly choose a gladiator to torture. You won't have to worry until you get a little more substantial though, he likes to listen to the screams. But some gods do object to their property being...damaged." He opened the door. "Also Caligula isn't too picky about his bed partners, actually the more inhuman they are, the better he likes them, but again he likes to be able to hear you scream, so you should be safe for a bit. Also your patron is an unknown, so he may be...cautious about how he treats you." With that warning Samael closed the cell behind him. This time the click of the lock sounded more like a nail hitting the lid of a coffin.

Raphael closed his eyes. Now he knew why some would pick being a slave. The possibility of being tortured and raped was better than the absolute inevitability of being tortured and raped.

Raphael wished he could sleep, but he wasn't tired. He lay down on the cot and waited for morning, thoughts tumbling through his head. Raphael closed his eyes and he realized that he missed his brothers, and wondered where they were right now.

* * *

Yikes, Raphael seems to have gotten himself into trouble...


	7. Chapter 7

_Time and some thoughts..._

* * *

Chapter 7

Raphael spent the next few days in 'training' which he found was gladiator speak for getting your ass kicked by someone more substantial than you. Not like it actually hurt which was just felt wrong. When punched in the face it should feel like getting hit, not like someone is brushing the side of your face gently.

"Alright ladies. Just a little heads up for tomorrow's match. You will be pitted against another gladiator that is in the same...weight category as you. All of you newbies will warm up the crowd, get them itching for the real fights that will happen. Choose your weapons and armour well, and remember, a killing blow only will count as a won match, at least till you get a little more substantial. Oh and this is the first and last time you will ever have any time to train. We wouldn't want to make the matches too weasy for you." Caligula laughed at them as they were led back to their cells.

Samael had not come back to his cell since the first night he was there. It had left him with nothing to do but think. His mind went in circles as he tried not to let his need for revenge be replaced with His first match was nerve-wracking. He fought and he fought well. Apparently his match had the highest turn out for a newbie ever. The curtains of the box for his patroness however, remained closed.

So Raphael fought. He fought with weapons he was familiar with, and weapons he wasn't. And although the selection was extensive, it lacked a certain set of three pronged weapon that he felt naked without.

Match after match was won by him. He became a favourite of The Pit. The crowds cheered for him, and he basked in the heady glow of knowing that it was him they cheered for. They admired his skill, his ability to drag out a fight, and give the crowd what it wanted. A fast match he found out, was disappointing. No the crowd wanted a long battle with great showmanship of skill, the more wounds inflicted the better. Raphael almost would have been enjoying himself if not for the fact that when the crowd went home and he was led back to his cell, he remembered why he was here, remembered that She was gone, and knew that his goal was so far from his reach as to be almost unattainable.

Days turned into weeks, which turned into months, which turned into years. Raphael lost count of how many years he had been fighting in The Pit, five, seven, ten? He wasn't sure anymore, and even though Samael told him it was seven, it felt like an eternity where every day thoughts of revenge drifted further away and thoughts of mere survival crowded in. He had learned that The Pit was a brutal place. The screams of the gladiators filled all hours of the night and day. They screamed when they fought, screamed when they lost, screamed when they were tortured. And as Raphael grew more solid with each passing fight that was won, the closer he came to knowing that soon it would be his screams that would ring out through The Pit.

* * *

Raphael looked at his armour that sat in his cell along with his weapons. It may seem stupid to give a prisoner weapons, but really he had nowhere to go, nowhere to run, and the magical restraints that held him made certain that he wasn't going anywhere, no matter how badly he wished to. He began cleaning the blood from his blade. Once this was done he would begin sharpening it. Anything to keep his mind from...

He was solid enough now that he was no longer blue. The armour he wore was in The Destroyers colours. A black helm, black bracer with black shin guards. On each bicep he wore a band of colour, blue and purple. His mask changed as well. Sometimes he wore blue, other times he wore purple, sometimes it was black. He felt wrong wearing the colours. Blue and purple belonged to Leonardo and Donatello, not to him.

He often found himself wondering whatever happened to his brothers, but thoughts like those wouldn't help him to survive. The chich chich sound of metal scraping on stone consumed his thoughts.

Becoming more tangible meant that he hurt when he was wounded, it meant that he also felt tired. The weapons he fought with were heavy and he couldn't fight with them as long as he had when he had started out. Raphael was also noticing that emotions that he had believed to be raw and bright and vivid, had not been. His emotions had been like him, washed out and a shadow of what they really were. He was like a person who needed glasses, but never realized it until they looked through the lenses and saw the world clear and in focus for the first time. Raphael understood now what She had meant about the gods not being able to feel like mortals. Sure they thought they did, they felt emotions, but what they felt paled in comparison to what a mortal felt.

As each passing match was won, The Destroyers power got stronger. It flowed and leaked into him, all cold and bleak and empty. It was the opposite of everything Her power had been. He was glad he had trained with that mage to control the power that She had awoken in him, otherwise he would have probably been consumed by The Destroyer's power by now.

The gods didn't just like watching souls fight each other, no, they like elaborate set ups. The more solid you became the more elaborate fights the gladiators participated in. Sometimes the Pit was flooded with water for elaborate sea battles where teams of gladiators fought each other. Other times there were obstacle like type courses. Sometimes it was molten lava with exploding volcanoes, sometimes it was rocks floating in the sky, sometimes it was a winter wasteland with avalanches. So you had to dodge and watch out for the environment as well as trying to kill the other gladiator. And the more solid you became, the more they expected you to fight until you collapsed or were dealt a blow that incapacitated you.

Of course with The Destroyer's power coursing through him, he was a virtual powerhouse when it came to fighting. Which meant that watching him win all the time was getting boring, which meant he had begun fighting against souls who had thousands of years of experience. Which was why he was currently sitting down sharpening a kopis sword one handed, balancing it across his leg because his other arm was currently laying beside him, severed at the elbow. At least the damage to his heart he couldn't see, he could only feel the excruciating pain of his heart not beating. The cold crawled through his body as blood refused to circulate, and it was agonizing. He had not realized what she had suffered when She had stopped the beating of Her heart when he had thrown the mug at her.

He closed his eyes and took a shallow wheezing breath. He was unable to take a full breath because his left lung had collapsed. He was in agony, but laying down did not help, it actually made it worse. He was thankful that at least the bleeding had stopped. His cell was a bloody mess. He had been too overconfident, too sure of his victory. The trident had gone straight through his tunic and shell, puncturing and mangling his heart and lung. He had fallen to the ground in shock as the gladiator pulled the trident out. The gladiator had then used Raphael's own sword that had fallen to the ground, to lop off his arm. He had held the arm up in victory as the crowd roared in approval. Because there is nothing a crowd loves more than to see a winner, lose.

And now he was waiting for his patroness to come. Since he had lost his first fight, his patroness had to come and 'inspect' him, and decide if she wanted to fix him right away, let him suffer for a while, or if torture was going to be the order of the day.

It was going to actually be the first time he ever met his patroness. The Destroyer ignored him and he ignored her. It worked well for him. There would be only one goddess upon whose altar he would have worshipped, and it wasn't The Destroyer's.

He heard the sound of approaching footsteps, bells, and Caligula's voice ringing out loud and clear. "I have honed my abilities over Millennia. I am well versed in many of the most horrific and gruesome of torture techniques. We even have a special chamber if your taste runs more to interesting and unique devices. Some even make me squirm, but only a very little." Caligula chuckled. Silence was the only reply from his patroness, the bells were a giveaway "He's in here." There was the rattle of a key in the lock. Caligula walked in first followed by The Destroyer. A guard, which he had eventually found out was a Nagi, slithered in after The Destroyer pushing a cart, which held various instruments of torture. Hooks, whips, chains, a large assortment of knives, spikes, you name it, it was probably sitting on that cart.

"Bow down to your patroness you worthless piece of..." Caligula began as he went to grab him and pull him from the cot. The Destroyer held up a clawed, black, metal gauntlet encased hand. Caligula stopped and stepped back. She moved her head around the room as if looking at it, but she didn't ever seem to directly look at anything. As she did this Raphael studied her. Her headdress made her seem taller than she was, but her eyes would only have come up to his beak. So she was in actuality only around 5'. She had clear opalescent white skin, a strong jaw and perfect cupids bow lips the colour of blueberries. The silver metal visor she wore obscured her eyes and nose, and it was a solid piece of metal, there would be no way of seeing through it unless she had x-ray vision. Other than that he couldn't really tell much about her. There was no obvious expression on what he could see of her face. Her body language was reserved. At the moment a rich, but plain purple cape covered her from neck to foot. She opened the cape, or rather capes, for there were three, the top one was purple, underneath this one was a midnight blue, and under that, black. He could see most of some sort of bladed weapon that was strapped to her back beneath the capes. Under the capes she was wearing black armour. She wore black shoulder guards inlaid with blue metal in a swirling pattern, some sort of long flowing black robe over which a plain black breast plate covered her torso. The robes fell to the floor obscuring her footwear. In each metal clawed hand she held a crystal. One was blue the other red. The blue one would heal him, the red, could permanently mark his soul with his injuries, and cause extreme pain.

He looked at her defiantly as he sat on his cot in utter agony. He wouldn't give Caligula or her the satisfaction of seeing the fear that was rolling through him. He would never give them the satisfaction of hearing him scream.

The blue crystal began to glow and he felt his pain begin to melt away. He was able to take a breath and he began to feel warm again as blood began to coursing through his veins. He looked at his arm which had reattached itself. It took all of his will power not to scream when his arm was reattached. It felt as if his arm had been asleep. Pin pricks and pain washed up his arm. He tried concentrating instead on moving his fingers. They responded, but another wave of pain washed up his arm.

He clenched his teeth together in frustration and to stop himself from crying out.

"Hurts doesn't it. It will feel like that for at least the next several hours. Just be glad it wasn't your head." Caligula said with a laugh.

The Destroyer walked up to him and he stood. He didn't want to have to look up to her. She didn't raise her eyes to his, but rather seemed to be occupied with staring at his chest. Specifically the place on his chest where Her mark was. She tipped her head slightly to the side as if listening to something, or thinking. Her scent rolled over him. She smelled like water and wind and cold, all wrapped up into one. Her smell was like the scent of winter.

"Now goddess," Caligula said as he rubbed his hands together. "I would like to point out again the wide selection of instruments..." He began as the goddess turned and walked out of his cell. Caligula blinked in shock. Rage stole over his features as he was denied his 'play time'. He gave Raphael a look that promised retribution later and strode from his cell, the Nagi guard taking the torture cart with her. His cell door closed and he heard the click of the lock.

He sat back down on his cot and ignored the pain in his arm. Relief washed through him. He wasn't going to be tortured, at least not yet. But he somehow knew that Caligula was going to get even with him somehow. He was going to have to make sure that his food and drink weren't poisoned, and that his armour and weapons never left his sight. It was bad enough having to make sure the other gladiators weren't trying to incapacitate him in some way, let alone getting on the bad side of the 'Master.' Maybe he just wouldn't eat for a while, or drink anything.

With having a solid body he now had to eat, drink and sleep. All of these weaknesses the other gladiators tried to take advantage of in some way. Whether it was through poison, or simple sleep deprivation, the battle between the gladiators didn't stop when the crowds went home.

He touched Her mark through his ruined tunic. _Had The Destroyer really found Her mark, or was she really blind and had just not looked up into a face she could not see?_ He wondered. He got up and changed into the clothes he had been buried in, his black jeans, and t-shirt. His clothes had regained their colour as he had. He pulled the blue mask from around his eyes. He looked down at his brother's colour. He placed the mask beside him, because thinking about when he was alive would not help him survive here.

But even though he thought this, his thoughts turned to his brothers anyway. He looked at his blue mask and wondered what had become of them? How had they lived, how had they died? He knew they were dead, but it was not a comforting thought. He wondered if they blamed him for messing everything up like he always did. He got Her killed, then left Leonardo to deal with the fallout of Her death. And Leonardo had not done well. His brothers had fractured and Donatello...Donatello broke. He wondered if Donatello managed to scrape together what was left of his broken heart and move on, or had he done something, like what they imagined him to have done? Had Michelangelo learned to laugh again? Had Leonardo managed to bring together his broken family and move on after his death, or had his death ripped them further from eachother? He tried not to feel guilty, but he did. He was able to sit night after night, listening to the screams of The Pit, and examine every single choice he made that was the _wrong _choice, and there were so many of them.

* * *

Sorry for the short chapter, the next one is longer=)


	8. Chapter 8

Another long chapter, and hopefully this one is a little more eciting than the last...enjoy!=) please read and reveiw!

* * *

Chapter 8

It was late when Raphael heard the click of the lock to his cell. His hopes were dashed that it was just Samael, when he saw the form of Caligula in the doorway, rolling in the torture cart.

Raphael was suddenly slammed against the wall, body spread eagle against the hard stone. Caligula smiled at him menacingly. "So your patroness doesn't seem to go for torture, that's too bad. I have been watching you for a while now, and I have begun to wonder what that flesh of yours feels like. Since I can't cut it to ribbons, I can think of a much more pleasant use for that more tangible body of yours."

Raphael glared at Caligula. He was silent for a moment then smiled. "I'm too pretty for you Caligula. Go find someone who is more in your league, like I don't know maybe a leech or a weevil."

Caligula looked at him and smiled. "They always start out defiant. When I am done with you, you will be nothing but a quivering ball of misery. Believe me, I have all the time in the world, and so do you. You see, just because you have advanced so fast doesn't mean you will attain your goal anytime soon. You have reached the top of your plateau. Today was just the beginning of a millennia worth of failures to come."

Raphael tried pulling his arms away from the wall, but he couldn't budge them. "That's what you think. I am going to win and I am going to get out of this hell hole." Raphael growled.

Caligula smiled and shrugged. "Now that the foreplay has finished let's get down to the fun part. Fun for me, not so fun for you. If I damage your flesh too much, your patroness will know and I do not know enough about her to risk my own life, however, I can still damage you and she will never even know." Caligula held a strip of leather in his hands.

"I have wondered for a while what is beneath those pants of yours. Turtle or human, or a combination of both. And now that you can finally feel the full spectrum of pain again, I intend to find out." He said with a malicious smile.

Raphael struggled, trying not to let the fear show on his face. He did not want this sick, sadistic bastard touching him. Caligula opened the button on his jeans. Then paused. "Oh I almost forgot." Caligula took the piece of leather in his hands and rammed it into his mouth tying it around his head. Raphael tried to yell at him through the gag, but only a garbled noise came out. "I usually enjoy the sound of screaming, but I don't think you would give me the satisfaction anyway, so for now I am going to be...merciful. You can bite down on the leather through the pain, and this is going to be painful, especially if you resist, and I do so hope you will resist."

Raphael struggled to no avail as Caligula pulled down his pants his legs being force together. "Very nice. You must have been in good shape when you died. Being a soul, even if you are solid, you can't build up muscle tone. I suppose I'll leave your shirt on since trying to remove it would be more trouble than it's worth. Can't destroy it because it isn't yours. Oh well, on to the main event." He said with a smile. He grabbed the top of his boxer briefs.

A loud pounding on his cell door reverberated around the room. Anger flashed across Caligula's face. "I'm busy, whatever it is I will attend to it later!" He shouted.

"You have a visitor!" The voice shouted through the metal door.

"I don't care if it is..." Caligula never finished his sentence as the door opened revealing a man around 6' in height, with short black hair, a swarthy complexion and grey eyes. He wore a black suit, black shirt, red tie and carried a black walking stick with a silver top. "Lucifer." Caligula squeaked, fear flashing across Caligula's face.

Lucifer was pulling at his shirt cuffs, inspecting them negligently. "Hello Caligula." He said with a white toothed smile that did not reach his eyes. "How have things been? I haven't seen you in such a very long time." Lucifer said menacingly.

"I...I...things have been good. I'm sorry, if...if... I had known that you were going to visit I would have been in my office waiting to greet you." He stammered out.

"Instead you are playing, while I have been waiting while your little minions, have been running around all over this place looking for you. I dislike being kept waiting Caligula." Menace dripped from every word.

I...I...what can I do for you?" Caligula asked. Lucifer strode over to Caligula and wrapped his arm around the shorter man's shoulders. He tipped his head closer and pointed to Raphael with his walking stick.

"Do you know who and what that is?" He said with a menacing growl.

"His...his name is Raphael, he's a mutated turtle of some sort."

"No, wrong answer Caligula." He squeezed the arm that was now around Caligula's neck. "That is one of the creatures that dared to touch, no more than touch **MY **betrothed, or for those of us who haven't been around that long, my fiancé." He said, anger and menace dripping from each syllable.

Raphael struggled against his shackles. Screaming at Lucifer that She didn't love him, that She would never have agreed to marry him. But all that came out was a garbled muted noise.

"You have not touched him have you Caligula? Tortured him in any way, even on the behest of his patroness?" Lucifer asked softly.

Caligula managed a sort of grk sound. Lucifer loosened his grip. Caligula wildly shook his head. "Good,good. Now listen to me very carefully, you never will is that understood. If Marwolaeth Yn Annwyl wants him punished she will have to do it herself, and you will have to take your perverse needs someplace else, do I make myself clear?" Caligula nodded his assent but looked at him in confusion. "You see, I think it should be my right and my right alone. I want to strip the flesh from his bones piece by piece. I want to rip him to pieces, put him together again and start over. I want to throw him into the very depths of Hell, break his mind, break his body and break his soul." He glowered at Caligula.

"I...I...but his patroness..." Caligula began.

"Oh I wouldn't worry about her. If I take this creature to Hell, she will never know of the damage I inflict upon him. And I will even bring him back." Lucifer gave Caligula a cruel smile. "Too bad you are bound to The Arena eh Caligula. Think of all the fun you could have if you could take the gladiators out and torture them beyond the boundary of the bond between gladiator and patron." He smiled evilly. "Anyway, I shall be off, and I will forgive you for not informing me that this creature has been in your tender care for the last seven years."

Raphael's hands were freed from the wall only to be wrenched around and bound behind his shell. His pants were suddenly back in place. A metal collar encircled his throat. He tried not to move. The collar had four metal spikes on the inside. If he didn't follow Lucifer the spikes would impale him through his neck, not fatal of course, but would cause excruciating pain. Lucifer held the chain that was attached to the collar negligently in his right hand.

Lucifer walked to the door Raphael trailing reluctantly behind him. Lucifer paused. "Oh Caligula, I will expect better of you in the future. I paid a lot of money to Hades to get you out of the Underworld and set you up here. I expect better results, understood?" Lucifer said with a threatening smile. Lucifer didn't wait for him to respond, but pulled Raphael forcefully behind him.

The spikes dug into his neck as he glowered at the back of the Devil. He tried to push down the utter and absolute panic and fear that was threatening to overwhelm him. Caligula was one thing. A sadistic little man with delusions of grandeur. Lucifer was THE DEVIL. If anyone would break him, it would be Lucifer. He tried to keep his breathing steady as his mind sped around trying to find some way to possibly escape. If Lucifer was taking him out of The Arena, he may have a slim chance of being able to run. He guessed that his enchanted manacles would lose their power once outside The Arena. He would suffer the spikes through his neck if he could escape.

Lucifer led him into an elevator where his hopes for escape were dashed by a button on the inside that specifically said Hell levels 1-10. Lucifer chose Hell level 1. The doors closed and the elevator dinged each floor as they listened to the worst music Raphael had ever heard. Each floor they progressed past Raphael felt more and more ill, like he was seasick or something.

Lucifer looked at the speakers in disgust. "The Narians must be playing with the sound system again." He grumbled, then turned to Raphael. "The gods don't have to travel The Ways like the Reapers do. We have a nice little express route. That is why you are feeling a little queasy, you are literally sliding through dimensional space at the moment. " He smiled darkly as the elevator dinged Hell Level 1.

The door opened into a nice spacious lobby, one that wouldn't be out of place in a very expensive law office. The floors were richly carpeted in shades of grey, the walls were red and gold. The look should have been overpowering and possibly gaudy, but somehow it worked.

There was a receptionist sitting at a desk on the far side of the lobby. She looked human, with mocha skin, grey eyes and black hair. She was wearing a headset and talking into it.

Lucifer strode up to the desk and if the fact that Lucifer was hauling a 180 pound mutated turtle behind him in some sort of torture device fazed her in any way, she didn't show it.

"Hold my calls, and cancel all appointments Celeste. I will be...occupied for the next little while." Lucifer said as Celeste nodded and continued to talk into her headset.

He walked through a set of double doors that led into an office. He pulled Raphael in after him and closed the door. Raphael looked around the office. A sleek glass desk with a small computer dominated the room. There were a few manila folders on the desk, and filing cabinets lined the walls. The carpet was a deep rich blue. Windows lined all four walls which should have been impossible since one of the walls should have opened up to the lobby they had just come through, but apparently Hell didn't bend to logic. The windows showed the view of a blue sky. Raphael looked at the sky in confusion.

"What is it humans always say, location, location, location. But even I get tired of looking at the sight of Hell." Lucifer pressed the button of some sort of remote. The blue sky vanished to be replaced by an orange sky dominated by three suns. Raphael looked out at what he could see and Hell looked a lot like New York...if New York only had one season of ridiculously hot, with the slight possibility of occasional lava flows and burning pyres.

Lucifer shrugged throwing the remote on the desk and sauntering over to the window behind his desk. He touched the window pane and it suddenly popped open. He pulled Raphael along with him through the window. Nausea overwhelmed him and it took everything he had to not puke. With a gag in his mouth he didn't think that would be a very pleasant experience. Raphael fell to his knees, the spikes of the collar dug into the back of his neck. He felt the collar disappear.

Raphael struggled to his feet and looked around him. He was expecting some sort of torture chamber, but instead found himself in a library. The floors were stone, but covered in rich red oriental rugs. The walls that did not contain bookcases were covered in fine tapestries. There was a dark wood desk that dominated the room. A guest chair sat on the other side of the desk. A sideboard containing various decanters of liquor was pushed against one wall, and a fireplace where a fire crackled happily was on the opposite. Two wing chairs faced each other sat in front of the fire place, a chessboard with a half played game between them.

"Sit" Lucifer ordered.

Raphael glared defiantly at Lucifer telling him where he could go and how he could get there. Of course it came out in a garbled mess, but he thought Lucifer got the point.

Lucifer strode over to him picked him up by his shirt collar and slammed him against the nearest wall. He heard his shell crack. Menace, rage and hatred rolled off Lucifer. Steel grey eyes were turning silver. He untied the leather gag and ripped it from his mouth. Lucifer bared his teeth showing fangs he knew hadn't been there before, in fact his whole form was beginning to flicker.

"Be careful Lucy your Devil is beginning to show." Raphael sneered at him.

Lucifer's eyes were almost white with rage. But he looked at his arms which were flickering revealing his true form beneath. His form solidified again and Lucifer brought his face close to Raphael's. "Do not ever call me that. Do I make myself clear. Kaethryn was the only one ever allowed to call me that. And if you loved Her like you claim you did, then you will not make light of such things."

He let Raphael go and he stumbled a little. He felt the bonds holding his arms behind his shell disappear. He rubbed his arms and watched as Lucifer walked over to the sideboard and poured himself a drink. He looked at Raphael, expression unreadable. "Drink?" Lucifer asked.

Raphael looked warily at Lucifer and nodded. He hadn't minded the occasional beer when he had been alive, but he felt he needed some seriously hard liquor right about now.

Lucifer poured him a small amount of some sort of brown liquor into a glass, walked over and handed it to him. Raphael looked at it and poured the contents straight down his throat. It burned all the way down but he didn't care. He was alive, well sorta, and not being tortured or raped at the moment. He looked at the glass, maybe if he got himself drunk enough, whatever Lucifer had planned for him wouldn't hurt as badly, or at least he might not care as much.

Lucifer looked at the empty glass. "Well if you are going to treat 1000 year old scotch like that I might as well just offer you a beer." Lucifer said with a hint of disgust.

Raphael looked at the glass. Beer was tempting, but not enough alcohol content.

Lucifer sighed and poured himself another glass of scotch, opened a fridge that was stored beneath the sideboard and offered him a beer. "I'm not going to torture you. And believe me when I say, it is taking every ounce of willpower I have right now, not to do just that."

Raphael's eyes narrowed in suspicion. "Why not? You obviously have some sort of hate on for me." Raphael said while cracking open the beer. He took a swig, but never took his eyes off of Lucifer.

Lucifer's eyes narrowed. They blazed silver again. "Let me spell it out for you in terms you may actually understand. The woman I loved sacrificed everything that she ever was to save you, your brothers, me, Gabe, Hell, the whole damn world. Do you think that I would, even for a moment, attempt to destroy something she died to save? Now don't get me wrong, everything I told Caligula is absolutely true. I told him what I _wanted_ to do to you, not what I _would_ do to you."

Raphael blinked in surprise. "You're not going to tell me that The Devil can't lie, because I will call bullshit."

"Oh I can lie. I told the first lie ever told, or so they tell me." He said with a shrug. "But what is the fun in lying? I have not told a lie since February 21, 1812. That is the date that Kaethryn decimated almost all of Hell by the way. Which was completely my own fault, but we will get back to that." Lucifer said as he swirled his scotch. "Gods She was amazing. She could make the truth sound like a lie. I still get hard at the thought of the truths that tripped and danced off her tongue." He sipped at his scotch as Raphael looked at him with disgust.

"She hated you." Raphael said to him.

"Even you don't believe what you just said. Never lie to a liar, I can smell the deceit rolling off you." Lucifer smiled at his glass. "Everything She said was absolute truth, but She could twist and turn a truth until it was barely recognizable."

"She would never have agreed to marry you." Raphael said with loathing. "How could a woman with as much goodness and light ever love a creature like you?"

"Ahh, now there is the rub, because she did. You know she did, and I could ask the same of you." Disgust dripped from the last word.

Raphael ignored the last dig. He had asked himself the same question enough times and had still come up with nothing."Doesn't count when you were human. She didn't even know what you were." Raphael said taking another swig of beer. "She never loved you knowing what you are. She hadn't seen you in almost 200 years, and I know she wouldn't have agreed to become your wife while you were fighting the demon war."

"Not true, true and again true, in that order. Remember what she was during the 1800's, a goddess without a memory. She was humanish for a bit. Hid from me and my demons while we tried to find a Fallen that was so powerful that she managed to kill two out of three demons. Didn't consume their souls, so they told me everything when they regained their forms again. We had a fun little game of cat and mouse her and I. I kidnapped that vampire guardian of hers, when I discovered her identity. Made her come to me." Lucifer's smile disappeared and Raphael remembered what happened to Her in Hell. They were both silent. Lucifer downed his drink and poured another.

"To make a long story short I was going to use her to wage war on Heaven. She was perfect. She was powerful and she had no weaknesses. Well only one weakness, that was actually her greatest strength, but more on that later. She consumed a demon soul, destroying her precious balance between light and dark magic, and was she dark. I decided I would make her mine. If I married her, I would be able to bring Heaven to its knees. It would be my revenge for turning me human, for making me love Kaethryn, and then taking her away from me. She agreed to become my wife. Never got around to claiming her though because she unfortunately regained her balance. Thus I had to threaten her guardian. That was my fatal error. Her greatest weakness are the creatures she loves. She has never really cared about her own life, but the lives of those she loved." Lucifer shook his head. "It was K'emeth's fatal error. If he had just taken her offer, K'emeth would have won. Then again she probably knew he would never take the deal anyway, but she had no guarantee that she would walk away that night alive."

"If she had someone or someones she needed to protect, she would pull strength, pull power from somewhere, anywhere to make sure that the ones she loved remained safe. She didn't kill me though, always wondered why. She didn't know about the Accords back then, or about us." Lucifer sat down at his desk. "I hadn't seen her in nearly 200 years, but I talked to her. I wanted that sword, the sword that contained the soul of Kaethryn. I would have killed her for that sword. She knew it, and do you know she would have still come to Hell and fought beside me in order to stop the Apocalypse. No sense of self preservation at all. I of course, had no idea that The Golden Goddess and Kaethryn were one and the same." Lucifer held his empty glass, staring at it as if lost in thought.

"So you killed Michael, threatened Heaven, but have done nothing to the gods who Destroyed the woman you claim to have loved. How does that work?" Raphael said to him angrily. He didn't want to share any sort of emotional pain with Lucifer, it was just wrong.

Lucifer looked at him in shock. "Why would I..." He began then stopped. He looked at him seriously. He put his elbows on the desk making a steeple with his fingers. "The gods didn't Extinguish Her." He said softly. His eyes narrowed. "Wait you came here, and became Exo-Ouroboros to get revenge on who, Michael, already done, then you hear the story of how the gods Destroyed Her and you want to what, rain down vengeance against the gods who voted against Her and had Her Destroyed?" Lucifer laughed. Raphael glared at him. "I will give you this much, you don't lack for courage do you. Not too smart, but ambitious, I like it."

"Wait," Raphael's brain finally processed what Lucifer just said. "What do you mean the gods didn't Extinguish Her. Are you telling me that she is still alive!" He asked in shock, hope flaring within him.

Lucifer looked at him like he was an idiot. "For one, if she were still alive I would not be here having this conversation with _you,_ for two, what part of SHE SACRIFICED HERSELF do you not understand."

Raphael's hope died a swift death. He tried to get angry with Lucifer but found he couldn't.

"That memovid was the best lie I never told." Lucifer said to him. "I haven't _told_ a lie since 1812, doesn't mean I have not perpetrated any untruths." He said with a devious smile.

"Funny." Raphael said to him.

"You see only a few actually saw what happened that day. I ripped the memory out of a demon and altered it a little. I have some very good computer hackers and techs in Hell, you wouldn't believe what they can do. Anyway I let the fake memory go viral. Everyone sees Death taking Kaethryn's soul, of course Diemortia and Dielucere saw Death try to take Kaethryn's soul, they don't realize that he doesn't get it. So when prompted by the Council of the Gods, the two goddesses who can't lie, tell the Council that they saw Death collect a human soul, which is as far as they saw, the truth. Death gives said containment box holding Kaethryn's supposed soul to the Council of the Gods. No one checks the box because Death would never give an empty box to the Council of the Gods, because he is Death. Council blows up little box, no one knows anything different."

Raphael paled. What did she do? "Most of the Memovid is correct. She was gravely injured. I don't even know how she survived the injuries she sustained, but she did. She lost her wings, most of her tail, and had a huge chunk taken out of her side. A Syna managed to get its teeth into her, ripped out a chunk of her torso about the size of a basketball. She could have healed herself, but she didn't. She never performed a single spell after blowing up a good chunk of the Wastelands. She suffered for 6 months injured as she was. Six months of total agony because she refused to take any blood, or heal herself using her magic. I didn't know what she was planning, I still don't know what She did." Lucifer reached down and pulled open a drawer. He placed a laptop on his desk and began typing. He turned the computer towards him and Raphael found himself walking closer.

On the screen Lucifer was banging on the shield She had erected. She was talking to the little black ball in Her hands. She let it go and it consumed all of the demons, so far, same as what he had already seen. She closed Her eyes in death. The shield holding Lucifer and Gabriel broke. Lucifer grabbed her body as Death claimed her soul, and that is where he saw the difference. Just as Death grabbed her soul, it was consumed by the same rolling blackness that had consumed the demons of K'emeth's army.

Lucifer closed the laptop. "Whatever She did, She paid with Her soul." Lucifer said softly.

"So why tell me all of this?" Raphael asked voice bleak.

"Think of it as my way of torturing you. You now have nothing, became Exo-Ouroboros for nothing. Even if you do manage to survive The Pit, you will live an eternity in Darkrealm without rest. It is the only thing I can do to you that will in any way shape or form ,give me any satisfaction for you having the temerity to love Her. It makes me ill to think of my lovely Kaethryn being touched by a creature such as you." Lucifer said with contempt and disgust. Lucifer stood.

"Right back at you Lucifer." Raphael sneered at him.

Lucifer snapped his fingers and Raphael's arms were wrenched behind his shell. The leather gag jammed back in his mouth and the torturous collar encircled his neck. "Fer'rth, will escort you back to The Pit. Try to act like you have been to Hell and back. We wouldn't want Caligula to get suspicious now would we." Lucifer said with a cruel smile.

Nausea rolled through Raphael as he appeared back in Lucifer's office where a tallish man in a grey suit dragged him back to The Pit


	9. Chapter 9

Everyone waiting to find out what happened to Rapahel's brother's, enter a brother. Please read and reveiw! =)

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Chapter 9

The door opened and Lucifer didn't look at the Fallen who entered. "I am impressed Luce. I didn't think you had it in you to let him go without ripping him apart."

Lucifer stood and walked over pouring himself another drink. "I wanted to Gabe. I wanted to so badly you have no idea. How could She have loved something like that?" Lucifer asked in disgust.

Gabriel looked at the doorway that the turtle had left through and shrugged. "She was a goddess of magic. Her creatures were strange and bizarre, some quite repulsive really. For her it was always what was on the inside that counted. She loved you Luce, that should tell you something."

Lucifer's form shimmered as he took on his real form. His wounds had healed, but his hair was still white. He didn't know why; the loss of Her again; or the power of whatever took Her soul as payment. He stretched his wings and his tail thrashed from side to side.

Lucifer smiled a self depreciating smile then looked at his brother seriously. "If Kaethryn had remained mortal, and I had found her soul...I would have let her go, if I knew she was happy." He whispered.

"I know." Gabriel replied.

Lucifer looked at Gabriel. "He bears Her Mark. As long as he stays in The Pit, Marwolaeth Yn Annwyl's power will hide Her power." He paused. "Do you know what that Mark means Gabe?"

"She kissed his soul Luce. Her soul literally kissed his soul. She left a tiny piece of her love, of her spirit with him." Gabriel said softly. "At least that is my best guess."

Gabriel and Lucifer turned towards the door as a knock sounded. "Enter." Lucifer called out.

A man with sun kissed hair, tanned skin, blue eyes, blue Hawaiian shirt, khaki shorts and sandals walked into the room. "Ahh Azazel, or should I call you Samael?" Lucifer asked with a smile.

The man stopped and bowed at the waist. "Lucifer, Gabriel." He stood up straight, no friendly smile graced his face, he was all business.

"I wanted to thank you for keeping an eye out for me in The Pit. I am glad you relayed all of the information you did, it has been most helpful. Nice work on informing me of Caligula's intent." Lucifer said to him.

Azazel/Samael nodded curtly. "You know where my loyalties lie Lucifer, so do not thank me."

"Yes, Yes, I am well aware. He has been returned safely and unharmed as promised. Continue your good work and keep me informed of any other...developments." Lucifer said with a friendly smile.

Azazel/Samael bowed and left the room.

Gabriel looked at the demon's retreating back, shaking his head in awe. "The only old testament demon I know who is absolutely, totally and completely loyal, and it is not even to you to whom his loyalty has been given." Gabriel said with a slight smile.

"Depressing, is it not?" Lucifer looked seriously at Gabriel. "Our 'accounting' problem is getting worse. I think it is time we met with Death and see what is being done. Is Heaven sending a representative as well?" Lucifer asked.

"Uriel." Gabriel answered. Both brothers looked at each other and sighed. "Well at least he is efficient."

"And boring, so very boring." Lucifer replied.

Gabriel smiled, walked to the door, gave one last assessing look at his brother, but stopped and looked at Lucifer when he asked, "Do you blame me Gabe?"

Gabriel paused. "Some days Luce, most days I just revel in the gift that She gave us."

Lucifer looked surprised. "What gift?"

"She loved us Luce, and we loved Her. She wanted us to be happy and I am. I am more happy than I have been in Millennia, because I realized that it wasn't the length of time that she loved us that was important, but that She did." Gabriel paused. "Are you happy Lucifer?"

"Yes." He said as if his answer surprised even himself. "I regret and blame myself, but I know She would never have blamed me for the war. And I got to spend eight months with Her, which is such an insignificant amount of time, but I think I was happy then. I know what happened to her, I am no longer searching, I have...closure."

Gabriel nodded and walked out of the room, closing the door gently behind him.

Lucifer sat down at his desk and stared into the flames of the fireplace. His eyes drifting over the half played game of chess. The game had stood untouched for nearly a thousand years, and it would remain unfinished. She had played with him one night during a lull in the fighting, but they had never finished.

He opened a secret drawer and pulled out a memo-album. The Burgundy leather cover with double ravens was still as fresh and new as the day it had been delivered. It had taken him years to find it after he found out that it existed. But he found it. He had told the turtle the truth. He didn't torture him because She had risked everything for him and his brothers. But it was also because when he looked at the pictures contained within the album, he saw Her face and She was happy, unbelievably and utterly happy and in love with them.

"I would still have tried to win Her." Lucifer said to the smiling turtles in the Memographs.

* * *

Raphael lost the next two days worth of matches. His heart was no longer in it. He had only been fighting for seven years in The Pit, which is a drop in the bucket, but Lucifer had stripped him of his will to fight. Knowing that there was no one on whom he could take any sort of revenge had been devastating.

Samael stood in front of him with the blue healing crystal and a look of concern on his face. Raphael was stretched out on his cot flat on his back trying not to scream in pain. Apparently the crystal would pull power directly from his patron so she didn't actually have to be present to put him back together again.

"Raphael are you okay?" Samael asked.

"There is no point to any of this. Not anymore." He grumbled as the crystal began healing his wounds. Samael was a demon, but he supposed even he was unaware of the best kept secret on the godly plain. Then he wondered why Lucifer had perpetrated the lie. She was gone, why lie and make all of the gods believe they had destroyed Her? It may be he did it for shits and giggles, then again, Death was in on the deception as well. Raphael rubbed his temples. At least nothing had been chopped off this time. He had been disembowelled though, and that was extremely...unpleasant, to say the least.

Samael looked at him in confusion. "Where was God in all of this Sam?" Raphael asked looking at the ceiling.

Samael looked shocked at the question. "God never interferes." He said as if this was a known fact.

"The Apocalypse was about to happen and you are telling me He wasn't going to do anything?"

"Why would he?" Samael asked.

"Because it was the effing Apocalypse that's why!"

"The Apocalypse that never happened. Raph...how can I explain this. God plays with a stacked deck. He always wins. God is omniscient. It means he knows everything that was, is, or will be. He knew there wasn't going to be an Apocalypse. So why bother stopping what doesn't ultimately happen. Besides at the end of the day if the Apocalypse really did come about, everyone would just say it was 'the will of God' anyway. See He always wins." Samael said with a half smile.

Raphael had nothing to say to that. Samael gave him a searching look then left his cell to perform whatever other duties it was that he did. Raphael hadn't seen Caligula around, Lucifer's threat had apparently put the fear of The Devil into him and he was giving Raphael a wide berth.

Raphael must have drifted off to sleep because he was awoken by his cell door slamming against the wall. Raphael looked at it in surprise. Lucifer stood in the doorway wings wrapped around him like a cloak. His waist length white hair was bound back in a series of intricate braids. He wore blue and silver shoulder guards over a worn leather trench coat. He wore blue pants from which his black serpentine tail was thrashing angrily.

"Miss me?" He growled.

He strode over and picked Raphael up by the shell. At first he thought Lucifer was in a towering rage, his eyes were silver, but he realized that The Devil was feeling a riot of emotions, starting with anger, which rolled into irritation, which rolled into worry.

Lucifer hauled him out of the cell, a gag appearing in his mouth. He started shouting at Lucifer through the gag. Caligula came running from somewhere nearby, saw what was going on, and ran back the way he had come.

Lucifer strode down the hallway with purposeful strides.

Lucifer carried him to the elevators he had used before to drag him into Hell. They passed by a hallway and Raphael swore he saw Samael in the gloom, but when he blinked he wasn't there, so he was unsure if he had just imagined him.

The elevator doors opened and Lucifer threw him in. He hit the far wall and slid to the ground. The elevator doors closed and he glared up at The Devil. Lucifer hit the button on the side that just said DEATH.

Raphael tried to demand to know what the hell was going on, but rolling nausea hit him. He stayed on the floor and closed his eyes. It didn't help.

The elevator dinged, and the doors slid open revealing an office. Greys and blacks decorated the walls, floor and ceiling. A large black desk dominated the room. Lucifer picked him up and threw him out. "I will be back in an hour." He growled. The doors closed and his gag disappeared.

Raphael shakily got to his feet. There were two black doors one on each side of the empty desk. The door on the right opened revealing a twelve year old girl in pigtails.

"Mon?" Raphael asked in shock.

She came running up to him and launched herself into his arms. He tried not to flinch. No one had touched him in the seven years he had been in The Pit unless it was to do some horrible act of violence on him. He hadn't realized that the thought of someone touching him now brought an automatic recoil response. Goddess had went so much longer without having any touch Her. No wonder She had always been so touchy-feely. His arms went around Mon and he hugged her. Somehow even hugging this stranger felt like a balm to his broken soul.

"I thought you were dead." He said in surprise.

She let him go and looked at him with sad eyes. " Marwolaeth Yn Annwyl killed the Rhenna and ignored me. She paused. "Raphael I am so sorry."

"It wasn't your fault Mon, there was nothing you could..."

"No Raphael, I am sorry about your brother. We found him. There is nothing we can do. It is for the best."

Raphael felt as though the floor had been pulled out from beneath him. They found his brother? Which one, and what was Mon talking about? "Who...?" He asked, voice barely above a whisper.

"I'm better with colours than names, but he is pretty scarred up." Mon paused in thought as Donatello's face flashed through his mind. "Older than you, missing his left eye." Raphael's forehead furrowed in confusion. When somebody died, Raphael had learned that any scars or how old you were stayed present until you reached your final place of rest. When you reached that place you could get rid of scars, imperfections, become as old or as young as you wanted, that sort of thing. Because he had become Exo-Ouroboros any scars he carried with him in life, he carried with him now in death. How you died didn't seem to count, so he didn't carry the knife wound that Hun had given him. "Where is he?" He asked.

She motioned to the door on the left. " Marwolaeth Yn Annwyl found his soul Raphael. A Rhenna had consumed him, but when she killed it, his soul was released."

She tried pulling him back as he strode to the door on the right. He flung open the doors. He didn't notice anything about the room except his brother, lying on a black leather couch, soul flickering eye closed.

"Leo." He managed to choke out.

"That's it, the blue one. The other angry one." Mon said nodding. Raphael ignored her and knelt down at his brother's side.

"Leo what happened to you?" Mon was right, the left side of Leonardo's face was a mass of scar tissue and his left eye was covered by a patch. He could see the scars continue down the side of his neck disappearing beneath the collar of some sort of uniform. His brother did look older, early thirties maybe. The fine lines of age were just starting to show around his eyes. He looked like he was sleeping, but Raphael knew from experience, if you were a non-corporeal soul you didn't sleep. A finger of icy dread slid down his back.

He didn't know what Mon was doing but the three of them were the only ones in the room. He heard her tapping on something like a keyboard.

"Leonardo, killed 2022 in a Patheon ambush. This isn't right." She grumbled to herself.

"What's a Patheon?" Raphael asked as he tried to touch his brother but his hand went right through his flickering form.

"Earth was attacked by an alien race called the Patheon's 'bout 1000 years back. Earth won, they stayed." She shrugged "Ancient history."

Mon placed a hand on his shoulder. He flinched. "I'll be right back, try to say goodbye." She said softly as she strode to the door, opened it and closed it shut behind her.

"I'll be right back Leo." He said as he stood and strode to the doors. He opened them, walked through and turned to his right storming through the door Mon had originally come through.

The room was grey and black with hints of a purple so dark it was almost black. His gaze swept over the occupants in the room. Death sat behind a desk typing on a laptop while The Destroyer sat perfectly straight in a black leather chair, arms flat against the arms of the chair, legs together. She didn't look at him when he entered, but Death stood and Mon, who had been talking by Death's shoulder, looked at him in shock.

Raphael was surprised to find Mon and The Destroyer in the same room, since she had been so afraid the last time, but maybe the Destroyer only killed things in The Ways. He didn't care. He strode up to The Destroyer. "Fix him!" He yelled at her. "I don't care what the price, fix him!" He yelled at her. He reached out to shake her but Mon stopped him.

She managed to pull him away. The Destroyer stood, bells ringing. Mon's eyes widened in horror. "Listen to me Raphael." She pleaded. He looked at the horror on Mon's face and the standing goddess. It was almost as if...the goddess had been...sleeping? "Time is up. There is nothing anyone can do, not even her." She said motioning to The Destroyer. "His soul is too badly damaged. I am amazed he was even able to keep his shape. It was the only way we were able to identify him."

"What's going to happen to him." He whispered agony tearing him up inside.

"Marwolaeth Yn Annwyl will Destroy him. It is the only thing to do Raphael." Mon said sadly.

Raphael shook his head in denial. "You don't get to just take my brother away and Destroy him." Raphael said angrily.

"You were lucky she even brought him here and allowed me to get you out of The Pit. Marwolaeth Yn Annwyl doesn't notice anything, but she brought him here. You were able to say goodbye. That is more than most people get." She said miserably.

"No. I don't..." Raphael looked to where The Destroyer had been standing. She was gone. "Nonononoono." Raphael said as he ran from the room. How had she moved past him? Those damn bells should have rung!

He burst into the room. Standing in the center of the room was The Destroyer. Raphael's gaze took in the goddess and the empty couch where his brother had lain. Misery, wretchedness, and despair all rolled through him as his gaze swung back to the goddess who seemed unconcerned with the fact that she had just Destroyed his brother.

"LEOOOO!" Raphael screamed. He charged the goddess. "You cold, heartless uncaring..." He wasn't able to finish as nausea rolled through him and he found himself standing in his cell. He fell to his knees, stomach finally revolting at being dragged through dimensional space so quickly, or maybe it was the sick feeling of absolute despair at the final loss of his brother.

Raphael did not contemplate the fact that his patroness should not have been able to shove him back into his cell. She would have had to go through so many wards and shields it should have been impossible. The Arena was warded so that the gods couldn't just randomly pull the gladiators or slaves from their cells, or put them back. Instead Raphael's mind and heart burned with grief and a renewed need for vengeance. The Ways should have been safer. If they had been safer Leonardo wouldn't be gone. "You are first on my list you cold hearted bitch!" He yelled into the darkness of his cell. His patroness would pay for Destroying Leonardo. It didn't matter that there was a little part of his brain that was telling him that it nothing could be done, it wasn't the point. The point was that it wasn't her **right **to take Leonardo away from him.

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Hope you all enjoyed this chapter, things are about to get interesting...


	10. Chapter 10

Chapter 10

Three days later Raphael still burned with rage. He hadn't felt so much rage since he had first taken up _Bloody Rage._ He had been thrown into the arena fight and he fought. He fought like a berserker warrior. No injury was too great for him to keep fighting. He won and won and won. He was close, so close to attaining his freedom he could almost taste it. His patroness' box was empty, but he could feel her power coursing through him. It was getting so strong that at times he could barely breathe, but he didn't care. All he wanted was to finally break his shackles and attempt to destroy the most powerful _something _the godly plain had ever seen.

Raphael listened to the screams that echoed through the night. He still wore all of his armour and a purple mask. He was obsessively sharpening his Kopsis sword. He was going to find a pair of sai as soon as he gained his freedom, because he was going to kill his patroness with _his_ weapons, or die trying, probably the latter, but at least he would no longer have to feel the absolute depth of despair he felt at the moment.

His body was thrown against the wall, arms and legs spread eagle. He had dropped his sword to the ground in shock.

His patroness stood directly in front of him. He recovered from the shock of having the object of his wrath standing in front of him. He shouted at her, he ranted and raved, he called her every horrible thing in the book. His rage burned.

He watched as frost began to form beneath the feet of the goddess. Her face remained impassive, but the temperature of his cell began to drop. "Well what do you know, you actually can feel something, you unfeeling, cold hearted...grk."

Raphael looked around him. He was kneeling in the center of the arena. The sand was cold beneath his knees. He looked at his patroness who was standing a little ways away from him. She was staring straight ahead, not even looking at him. He slowly stood. She still didn't look his way. She reached behind her and pulled two bladed weapons from her back, bells chimed throughout the arena. He had never seen anything like what she held. They looked almost like cicada wing blades, but weren't. The weapons were about 3 feet long with a triangular blade on each end, the grip being in the center of the slightly curved weapon. The curve of the weapon was towards the wielder. Pointed away from the wielder on the opposite side of the razor sharp blade on each end was a hooked piece of metal. Blue and purple ribbons swirled from the grips of the weapons, the bells attached at the bottom of each ribbon.

It was ridiculous, why put bells on a weapon? It was the point of a weapon to be silent and deadly. Having the bells meant your opponent would always know where the weapon was.

She accurately threw the weapon at him. He caught it, bells chiming like a death knell. His death was being chimed. He gave the weapon a practice twirl and charged her. She looked vaguely in his direction, but not really. Raphael realized then that she really was blind. Completely and absolutely blind. The blade rang as he sliced towards her head. Still she did not move. Finally she stepped back just out of reach of the blade. Blood ran down her cheek. Raphael looked at her face in shock. His blade hadn't connected which meant that just the wind from the blade had sliced through her flesh.

She didn't seem bothered by the cut, but it did not heal. Raphael looked at her in confusion. She should be listening to him. Being blind she should be trying to find out where he was. Hells, the bells alone should have warned her as to where the blade was. But her ears were covered by that damn headdress...just like her eyes. She couldn't hear. She was blind and deaf.

"Blind and deaf huh? Well you might just be the biggest bad ever, but I will bring you down to your knees. Do you understand! You Destroyed my brother's soul! You had no right!" He screamed as his rage flared and burned brightly. He may just have a chance against a blind and deaf goddess. He charged her again, but this time her blade met his. He strained against her strength. She pushed him back and he gave ground. He fell to the ground forcing her to stumble forward. He put his leg on her breast plate and pushed kicking her over his head. She flipped in midair landing gracefully a few feet away. She ran at him. Raphael rolled to the side as her blade came down embedding itself into the sand where his head had been. Raphael rolled to his feet as she pulled her weapon from the dirt. She turned towards him and charged. She brought her arm back, her blade arcing towards him. The strength of her blow sent his weapon spinning away to land in the dirt several feet away. She slammed the hooked part of her blade hard into his chest knocking him to the ground. The hook luckily missed his body, but he was looking up as her blade came down, he heard the sound of the blade slicing through the air, felt the blade just cut into his neck and smelled the scent of white heather washing over him.

He looked at the blade, as the goddess removed it from his neck She bared a set of fangs. She straightened, all expression removed from her face. She tipped her head to the side as if thinking of something. He wiped the blood from his throat. Had he just imagined the scent of flowers in the wind? All he could smell now was the scent of, wind, and cold.

Nausea washed through him as he found himself in a low beamed room. A black low beamed room with grey stone walls . He was on his knees again. He defiantly stood. He had been here before, not actually, but he remembered this room from Goddess' memories. He was in Death's house. His patroness strode away from him, bells ringing from both of her weapons which were strapped to her back. "I'm not done with you yet!" He screamed at her. He looked around the room for some sort of weapon and found none.

Fine, he would just rip the damn blade from her back and stab her with it if he had to. He ran after her following the sound of bells which was very convenient for him. He saw the edge of a cape disappear through a doorway. He followed her into what looked like a bedroom. Blues, purples and blacks dominated the room but Raphael only had eyes for the figure that lay in the bed. His patroness stood by the door but he walked past her.

"He's not...but you...I." Raphael fell to his knees screaming in utter agony as she ripped his heart from his body. At least that is what it felt like she did. No, it hurt worse. She hadn't even touched him, but he looked at the glowing white three dimensional star hovering on her open palm. Her Mark was gone. He had never noticed its presence, but that was obviously a lie because he could feel its absence. It was as if the world somehow was a little less...warm.

"What did you...?" Raphael managed to choke out through clenched teeth.

She walked over to the bed and pulled back the covers. She positioned her hand over Leonardo's heart and removed her hand. The star floated above Leonardo's chest and slowly sank through his shell. He could see the light from the Mark blaze through his uniform. Leonardo's soul stopped flickering.

Mon ran into the room. She looked in shock at the bed, at Raphael, then dove out of the way of his patroness who strode from the room, bells softly ringing.

"Raphael, what..? I thought she had Destroyed him?" Mon managed to get to her feet, and helped him to his. He looked at the bed in shock as his brother opened his eye.

Raphael took two steps to the bed, dropped to his knees and tried to grab his brother's hand, but his hand passed right through.

* * *

Leonardo opened his eye. His head felt fuzzy. He looked up into his brother's face. "Donny?" He asked. He closed his eye. "Why are you wearing your mask? We haven't worn our masks in twelve years." He said as he absently rubbed the scar tissue on the left side of his face. He opened his eye again because Donatello's face had been a little fuzzy, it had almost looked like Raphael, but of course the only place he saw Raphael now was in his dreams.

Donatello touched his mask then ripped it off. "Leo, it's me...Raph."

He closed his eye again. "Must be dreaming then. Dreaming about Raph again. Why were you wearing Donny's mask Raph?" His gaze shifted to the girl who was kneeling beside his brother. "And a Japanese school girl?" He groaned and sat up.

"He doesn't realize he's dead. How doesn't he realize he's dead?" Raphael asked the girl. He seemed confused.

The girl looked at him. "Sometimes when someone dies they die so quickly, they don't even realize they _have_ died. The Reaper that collected him must have got him fast, before he had a chance to look at his body. It happens sometimes."

"I'm not dead Raph, you are though." Leonardo said quietly. "If I hadn't forced you to see us that night, you might have lived." It was a conversation he had had with Raphael in his dreams, and at his grave many a time. Of course all he had ever gotten as a reply had been silence.

Raphael looked at him with concern, then turned his attention to the girl. "But what about that little waiver I had to sign? The little spiel you Reapers give to welcome the dead to the Afterlife?"

"That's the problem Raphael. Your brother wasn't being escorted by a Reaper, at least none we could find. He should still be in processing for at least a few more months. We don't know how he got into The Ways." She said quietly.

Raphael looked at her in shock, then looked back at him. Leonardo reached out to touch Raphael to tell him everything was okay and stopped as he realized that he was completely blue. "Leo, listen to me..." Raphael was looking at him, agony written across his face.

"You were killed Leo. The Patheons got you." He looked desperately at the girl. She shrugged.

"No I..." Leonardo paused. He tried to remember. He and Michelangelo had been deployed in a space chopper. They were heading out to the front. They had almost reached their destination when...something happened. He didn't remember the rest. He looked down at his hands again. "Raph?" Leonardo looked at him, face full of shock.

"Yeah it's me bro, welcome to the Afterlife." He said tears forming in Raphael's eyes.

Leonardo looked at him in shock and leaned towards him to give him a hug. Tears were forming in Leonardo's eye. "Raph." He choked out. He wanted to hug his brother, but Raphael pulled away. He looked at his brother in shock as he grabbed the girl's hand.

"You can touch him, is he really alright?" Raphael asked, misery lacing his words. He let go of the girl's hand.

The girl poked and prodded him then gave a nod of approval.

"Why can she touch me, but I can't touch you?" Leonardo asked his brow furrowing in hurt and confusion .

"It's a long story bro." Raphael whispered.

And then Raphael began talking. His brother told him everything he knew about the Afterlife. Sometime while Raphael was talking the girl left. Leonardo sat in the four pollster bed with black satin sheets and listened. He inserted a question or comment here and there, but otherwise just listened.

Leonardo was overwhelmed. It was so much to take in and understand. But something bothered him."What I still don't understand is why you became Exo-Ouroboros Raph. It makes no sense. Why did you want a body so badly that you had to become some sort of gladiator to attain it? Why not just..." Leonardo paused. Raphael had avoided mentioning anything to do with...Her. Leonardo's eye widened. "It has something to do with Her doesn't it?" Leonardo asked carefully. "Did you find Her Raph?"

He looked at his brother's face and felt renewed grief roll through him at the look of absolute misery on Raphael's face."I wanted revenge Leo. Revenge against the gods that Destroyed Her soul. Becoming Exo-Ouroboros was the only way I could stay out of my place of rest." And so Raphael explained to him Her supposed Destruction at the hands of the gods, and her actual sacrifice. Leonardo felt oddly empty. Actually he didn't really feel much of anything at all.

"So she is gone, forever gone, and you are Exo-Ouroboros for all eternity." Leonardo said carefully.

"Yeah." Raphael said to him.

"And this patroness of yours ripped Her Mark out of you, and slammed it into me so that I would still exist." Leonardo said slowly as he began to unbutton his uniform.

Her Mark blazed lightly over his heart. "I guess so. Keep that Mark secret Leo. It shouldn't exist." Leonardo touched the Mark, grief plainly shown on Raphael's face.

"It's warm." He whispered.

"It is finally where it belongs Leo."

Leonardo's eye widened in shock. "Raph..."

Raphael smiled. "It's okay Leo, losing Her Mark was worth the price for your soul." He stood up as the girl entered the room again.

"Can you take him Mon? I don't think I could trust him with anyone else." Raphael asked her. Mon bit her lip.

"Sure...um...can I talk to you for a second?" She asked as she pulled Raphael from the bedroom.

Leonardo felt sorrow drift like a mist through him. He was so used to feeling the heartache of loss, he wasn't sure if he would know how to exist without it. He was so she Raphael would find Her. But there was nothing left to find. He looked at the empty doorway and leapt out of the bed.

* * *

Mon led Raphael down the hall into the room he had entered when he landed here. Death stood by the fireplace that blazed with black flame. Wrapped in Death's arms was The Destroyer. Death looked at him and Raphael started in surprise. Death's grey wings were wrapped protectively around her. He lifted her up into his arms and deposited her into a chair. She sat straight and stilled.

"Mon, why are you here?" He asked as Death walked from the room.

"I've been Death's personal assistant for two years now. The pay, much better, the danger, much less, except for..." She nodded her head towards the still figure of his patroness. "Still scares the Hells out of me. But she doesn't seem to notice me so it hasn't been that bad. I just have to make sure I stay out of her way when she is moving around."

She looked at him with concern. "For a while now we have been noticing some...anomalies in our accounting system, but we haven't really been able to find a pattern or a reason, for the anomalies, and truthfully I don't think we would have figured it out except for the fact that your brother was found in The Ways. He wasn't supposed to be there."

"Yeah that's what you said before. Wait, when you say accounting, you mean souls?" She nodded. "So what does it mean?"

"Well I decided to do some checking around, run through some numbers, and I have found that there are 236 souls unaccounted for that should still be in processing, in Limbo Level 1, but are missing." She said grimly.

"Okay, and you are telling me this because...?" Raphael said impatiently.

"Your other two brothers are missing." She said grimly.

Raphael froze and his heart dropped. "We don't even know how long this has been going on. It is only as of right now that we have this many souls missing. There could be thousands that have gone unaccounted for!"

Mon looked over at Death as he entered the room. "I thought that you should know, and we are going to try to find them, along with the other lost souls." She said to him.

"I'm going to help." Raphael growled. "No one takes my brothers and gets away with it."

"Raphael you can't help. You are a gladiator, you are bound to The Pit. There is nothing you can do."

He motioned to his patroness. "She dragged me out, she can keep me out."

Mon shook her head. "Do you know what would happen if the other gods found out she is powerful enough to get through their wards. She is breaking the Rules, for you."

"I won't sit back and..."

"How do I get a body?" Leonardo interrupted him.

Raphael cringed at his brother's voice. "Leo listen to me, you aren't getting a solid body here, you hear me. I messed up. I messed up real bad and I am not going to let you make the same mistakes I did." Raphael said facing his brother.

"I am not going to stand here and..." Leonardo started.

"I can't even do anything Leo. It took me seven years of fighting to get as solid as I am, the only way you can become solid instantly is to..." Raphael stopped talking. "Mon is going to take you through The Ways, you are going to have a nice Afterlife where you are not in danger of being ripped apart, tortured, raped, or being some gods play thing, you hear me Leo!" Raphael yelled, but sometime during the yelling he heard his voice break as he pleaded with his brother to understand. To understand that as much as it ripped his heart out at the thought of never seeing his brother again, he knew it was better than knowing what he could suffer at the hands of someone, for all eternity.

His brother looked at him steadily. "They are my family Raph. I am not going to go have a nice Afterlife knowing that Donny and Mikey are out there somewhere..."

"A slave." Mon said to Leonardo. Leonardo stopped and looked at Mon. "The only way you can get a body instantly is to become a slave. But Raphael is right. You will be sold in The Arena to the highest bidder. That is not a power thing, just a money thing, and there are gods out there that despise you, and that have enough money to buy you."

Leonardo looked at Raphael. "What are the chances that your Patroness will buy me?" Leonardo asked. Raphael felt himself pale.

"Slim to none. Course I would have placed those odds on Marwolaeth Yn Annwyl actually choosing to become Raphael's patron." Mon put in helpfully.

"Why are we talking as if your patroness isn't in the room?" Leonardo asked.

_She isn't _Death's voice floated through Raphael's head.

Raphael looked at Death in shock. He had forgotten that he was in the room.

"What do you mean she isn't in the room, she is right there" He said motioning to The Destroyer who was sitting perfectly still in the chair where Death had deposited her.

_So she is_ Death said cryptically

"Can you talk to her, I need to find my brothers." Leonardo asked Death.

"No Leo, absolutely not! I will not have my brother take the chance of becoming a slave. All eternity Leo, that is how long you will be a slave for!" Bells rang and Raphael found himself falling to his knees. He looked at the cold stone floor of his cell.

"NOOOOOO!" He screamed into the dark as nausea and panic rolled through him.


	11. Chapter 11

For those of you who have missed Leonardo =)

* * *

Chapter 11

Leonardo looked at where his brother had stood. "Raph!" He shouted. He was gone. He looked at Raphael's patroness as she strode from the room. Leonardo ran into the hallway determined to follow her, but she was already gone. "Where is he!" He shouted at the girl...Mon, as he ran back into the room.

"Probably back in his cell." She said with a shrug. "It's not like she could keep him out forever. He has a match tomorrow, they would notice if he didn't show up."

Apprehension filled him. "Why do the gods hate us so much." He asked softly.

"They don't hate any of you. You and your brothers are famous here. Most would be very interested in getting to know you better actually. But your goddess had powerful enemies, that is where the problem lies." Mon answered with a shrug.

Leonardo nodded. "I'll take the risk, I have to. How do I become Exo-Ouroboros?"

Mon looked at him with concern. "I don't know how to feel right now. Raphael is right, you should probably just let me escort you to your place of rest and let us handle this. We will try to find them, as well as the other lost souls. As long as they all haven't been consumed by Rhenna." She added as an afterthought.

_Marwolaeth Yn Annwyl is in The Ways. She is searching._ Death said to them.

Mon looked surprised. "She is searching for his brothers?"

_No_

"Then what is she searching for, and if she's not searching for my brothers why tell me this?" Leonardo asked angrily.

_She is always searching, thus, she may encounter your missing siblings. For some reason she has taken an interest in Raphael, possibly even yourself. _With that Death turned and left the room.

"What is she searching for?" Leonardo asked Mon.

She shook her head. "News to me, but I think that was Death's way of hinting she may purchase you if you become a slave." Mon bit her lip. "Maybe. I don't know. What would your goddess want you to do?" She asked him.

Leonardo froze. What would She want him to do? "She would want me to do anything in my power to save my brothers." Leonardo whispered.

Mon shrugged. "Sounds good to me. Oh, and just to let you know, if you become Exo-Ouroboros, all of the scars you have right now, and your sight in that left eye of yours, will never be healed and never be restored."

"What do I care for that if my brothers may have been consumed by the same creatures that consumed me!" Leonardo yelled at her.

She shrugged. "Hey it's your soul, not mine." She stopped then tapped her finger against her lips. "Hmm, I wonder if I even have a soul?" She said more to herself than to him. She looked him in the eye and said. "Repeat after me. I desire to be Exo-Ouroboros."

Leonardo repeated the words. Manacles encased his arms and ankles. "Good luck Leonardo." Mon said as he looked at her in surprise as his world went black.

Leonardo's head hurt. He sat up quickly and took in his surroundings. He was in a stone cell, sitting on a wooden cot. He looked at his hands. He was still glowing and blue, but he felt a little more solid than he had at Death's house.

He heard keys in the lock of his cell. He slowly stood up. "Welcome welcome." A cheerful voice said to him.

A surfer walked in with clothes, bedding, and a lantern, took one look at him and dropped everything in the middle of the room. He slammed the door of his cell and looked at him grimly.

He looked at the ceiling. "Two! Really? You have got to be kidding me. I have enough problems with just one!" He rubbed his face with his hands.

Leonardo looked at the man's name tag. "Samael."

"Yes, Samael and you are Leonardo. Crap and damn. Alright why are you here? I get why Raph is here, but how did you end up here?"

"Wait you know Raph?" Leonardo asked desperately.

"Of course I know Raph. You are in The Pit, there aren't any who don't know him. He's over in cell block 9."

"Is he okay?" Leonardo asked desperately.

Samael looked at him grimly. "His fight yesterday didn't go so well. I put him back together but," he shrugged. "If he doesn't shape up quickly he might just lose more than a few limbs next time, and losing limbs is a picnic compared to losing your head." He said severely.

"What do you mean losing a few limbs?" Leonardo asked with horror. Panic reverberated thoughout his body.

"Although losing his arm was probably a picnic compared to him having his shell ripped from his body, probably didn't feel his leg come off after that." Samael said with a shrug.

Leonardo felt ill. "Hey don't worry, I patched him up all right and tight. His patroness doesn't seem to go in for torture, at least not so far, so he has been healing nicely."

"How long have I been here?" Leonardo asked through the tightness in his throat.

"Twelve hours. You are going to have to wait until morning to be brought out. So you get to rest for now. I would take advantage of it. Not like you need to sleep, or probably feel tired, but it is the thought that counts I suppose." He looked at Leonardo and sat down on his cot.

"Listen Leonardo, this is how things work in The Pit..." Samael began. He explained the ins and out of The Pit, and although he felt ill at what was done to Raphael, at least knowing that his brother wasn't permanently damaged made him feel a little better, but only a little.

"You have to change into these clothes." Samael said standing and walking to the center of the room, grabbing the clothes from the floor.

Leonardo looked at the clothes. Raphael had told him to keep Her Mark a secret. Samael saw him hesitate. His eyes narrowed. "You don't happen to bear The Golden Goddess' Mark do you?" He asked softly.

He looked at Samael in surprise. Samael closed his eyes. "Raph said The Golden Goddess only Marked him."

Leonardo remained silent.

Samael sighed. "Fine we will do this the hard way."

Leonardo found himself pinned to the wall. Samael walked over to him and unbuttoned his uniform. Leonardo struggled to no avail. Her Mark glowed lightly. Samael tapped his chest in thought.

"Now that I think about it, I didn't see The Golden Goddess' Mark when I healed Raph yesterday. So you show up with Her Mark which is faded...as if it's power has been...used."

"So when did you manage to see your brother, and how did Her Mark get transferred?" He asked him. His eyes widened slightly as if a thought struck him. "Something definitely havey-cavey going on." He said softly. "Oh well, not any of my business. I am just the Orientation Leader around here." He said with a smile."I am the one who told Raph to hide the Mark by the way." Leonardo looked at Samael with suspicion.

Samael checked the inside pocket of his uniform. He pulled out three photos. "You guys are just a treasure trove of these things." Samael grumbled.

Leonardo was released from the wall. "Gladiator or slave?" Samael asked while looking at the photos that had been pulled from his jacket.

Leonardo looked at him in confusion as he slowly dressed into the clothes given to him, A sleeveless blue top and blue cotton pants. "Eye patch as well." Samael said holding out his hand.

Leonardo paused and removed the patch from his eye. There was a large messy vertical scar that ran through his eye ridge and tapered off onto his cheek. He still had an eye and eyelid, but he could not open his sightless eye. It had taken months after he had been injured for him to even be able to move his eye ridge a little bit. The messy scar intersected with a large burn scar that ran the entirety of his cheek. He had found people tended to stare, so he had started wearing the eye patch, at least it covered part of his ruined face.

"Raph's patroness is already taken, so if you attempt to become a gladiator I will tell you right now that Heterion will get you." Samael said breaking into his thoughts.

Leonardo's eye widened in shock. "The God of Nightmares?"

"Yeah him. You'll see him tomorrow, he'll probably bid on you. Look for the gold flag with the black butterfly." Samael shook his head. "He was not pleased to have lost Raph let me tell you."

"Slave." Leonardo said grimly.

Samael nodded. He tapped the photos against his palm. "You can try to keep these and hope you get an owner who is willing to let you keep them, or I can get them to Raph for safe keeping."

"How do I know that you would actually take them to Raph. I don't know you." Leonardo said coldly.

"True." Samael said with a smile as he handed the photos back to him.

Leonardo looked at the photos he had taken with him into war against the Patheons.. "Can you get a message to Raph for me?" He asked instead of taking the photos.

Samael nodded, putting the photos into his front pocket.

"Tell him I'm sorry, I had to, and tell him that if he doesn't fight better, he won't be able to help. That is what he has to concentrate on. He will know what I mean." Samael nodded, taking up his discarded clothes. "I won't see you tomorrow, so I'll wish you good luck." Samael paused. "If I were you, I would pray to the Golden Goddess, you never know, She might just hear you. Gone, does not mean forgotten." Samael said as he exited his cell.

Leonardo looked at the closed door in shock. He sat down on the floor, legs crossed. He supposed it was no different than talking to a loved one's gravestone. There was no guarantee that they would ever hear you, but you hoped that they did. Leonardo hadn't talked to Her since they had all left their masks on Katherine's grave. So he talked to Her in the darkness of his cell hoping that even though She was gone, that maybe She would hear him.

A few hours later Leonardo heard his cell door lock turning. He sat up slowly. A lantern was produced illuminating the figure of a shorter man with a ex-football player build. "See just as I said, we've got another one." The man said as Leonardo stood.

"Ah Caligula, I am so happy that you informed me of this new 'development'. I am glad that after our last conversation, our 'communication' problem has worked itself out." The man who entered after Caligula said with a smile. He was tall with short black hair, grey eyes, swarthy complexion and was carrying a black walking stick with a silver top. "You may leave us Caligula. This creature and I have so much we need to catch up on."

Leonardo's eye narrowed. "Who are you?" Leonardo asked him.

The man turned and watched as the door closed behind him. The man turned back to him and smiled. "Your worst nightmare. Well...at least I am sure I am sitting somewhere in the top ten." He said showing him even white teeth. "Not much to look at anymore are you. Not that you were much to look at before, but still." He said with a shrug. "I go by so many names, but I suppose you can call me Lucifer."

Leonardo felt fear slide through him, but he remained stoic. "What do you want?" He asked hoping his voice came out without a tremor.

"Oh, a little of this a little of that. From you however...not much. I just thought I would come and say hello." He paused. "Buying a slave for me is a little redundant, however, for you, I may just make an exception. I haven't actually watched the entertainment in The Pit for several hundred years, after all it is not like it isn't something I don't get to see every day." He looked at Leonardo speculatively.

"Fine then leave." Leonardo said to him.

"I shall" He paused and smiled."Should I put in a bid for you? After all, I have already dragged your gladiator brother to Hell and back, why should I need two abominations when I already have access to one?" He asked with a sweet smile.

Leonardo felt himself pale. "You lie." Leonardo said defiantly.

"No, why would I lie when the truth is so much more fun?" He asked cruelly. "Yes, that was such fun. You should be proud of him. When I recited all of the horrifying and torturous things that I wanted to do to him, he was very defiant. You should also know he didn't scream even once in Hell, very impressive. Of course when I had him delivered back to his little cell, I had broken him enough that he began to lose in The Pit."

Leonardo's hands clenched together in anger, bile running hot in his throat as he remembered what Raphael had told him about the conditions in The Pit.

Lucifer gave a cheery wave goodbye as he turned to leave.

"I will make you pay for what you did to my brother." Leonardo swore.

"Oh, I highly doubt that. In fact, one day, if you manage to survive, you might just thank me." Lucifer said with a laugh as the door was closed behind the Devil, the click of the lock sounding like a death knell.

Leonardo supposed it was morning when a guard came to get him. He was currently standing in the middle of the arena floor looking up at the millions of spectators and gods that were now oddly silent. A Cyclops was handling the sale of the slaves. It was a silent sale. Women with grasping claws and large brown wings instead of arms, possibly Harpies, took bids from gods. The winner would give the Harpies a bag of gold which was brought back to the Cyclops. Apparently there would only be noise if two gods bid on the same slave. So far no two gods had bid on the same slave, but they hadn't gotten to him yet, and he felt as if he was being watched very intently.

He found the flag of Diemortia and Dielucere and was shocked at their changed appearance. He had of course found Raphael's patroness, Mar- something, which meant Death's Beloved, but who also went by the name, The Destroyer. Which somehow was not comforting in the least.

He stepped forward and there was a flurry of bags of gold being raised. The Cyclops walked to the center of the arena. He held up his arms for silence. "The auction shall commence, with the bidding starting at 1000 gold coins!" He yelled into the crowd.

A gasp went up. The other slaves had sold for no more than ten gold coins, some of them less.

"1000 gold coins!" Heterion shouted from his box.

"1100 do I hear 1100!" Another god stood, and so it went. There had been about 10 gods to start with and all had been whittled down to four and his price was currently sitting at 20,000 gold pieces.

Leonardo looked at The Destroyer's box. The curtains remained closed. If she was in there, she was not making her presence known.

"One million gold pieces." A man's voice rang out from somewhere in the crowd. There was a gasp, as the crowd parted around a figure standing several rows beneath the luxury boxes of the gods.

"Lucifer." Leonardo whispered.

"One Million gold pieces going once. going twice, sold to Lucifer for the record breaking price of one Million gold pieces."

Leonardo felt his heart plummet. He stood in line waiting for the last two slaves to be bought and was finally led down a snaking set of tunnels and passageways to be 'processed', whatever that meant.

They were led to a room where a large open fire pit dominated the room. Sitting in the fire were various pokers. As Leonardo looked around he saw that thousands of pokers lined the walls, no not pokers, brands. One by one slaves stepped forward to be branded with their owner's marks. The smell of burning flesh assaulted Leonardo's nose. The slaves started out blue and at first did not appear to feel the sting of the brand, but as the brand left its mark the slaves would begin to scream. Their bodies gained substance, and they registered the pain of their burning flesh.

Leonardo stepped up to the pit next. He looked at Lucifer's mark which seemed to consist of an inverted triangle with the outer edges sweeping into a crossed curve with a v on the bottom. Inside the triangle was an x that extended past the outer lines of the triangle.

There was a loud clattering sound as a few hundred brands fell to the ground from the wall. "Oh my, I was just looking through all of your lovely brands, and must have knocked against one that caused the whole wall to fall down." Lucifer looked at the two Cyclopses who were doing the branding. "Oh, I wouldn't worry about this creature." He said. "I shall make sure this creature is branded by my own hand when I drag him into Hell with me."

"No slaves are to leave The Pit..." One of the Cyclopses began.

"Yes, but I am so handy with a branding iron, I figured I should get the pleasure all to myself." Lucifer smiled cruelly.

"But..." The Cyclops began.

Lucifer lost his smile. "I am not asking your permission, I am telling you what I am doing. Do not make me complain to Caligula." He growled. The Cyclops put the brand down and Lucifer smiled. "Good."

Leonardo found the chains that shackled his legs together had disappeared. A metal collar appeared around his throat. Attached to the collar was a chain. Lucifer pulled on the chain and began dragging him through a series of passageways and tunnels. Leonardo tried resisting tried to pull back on the collar and chain, but Lucifer's strength was too much. If Lucifer even noticed he was trying to resist he gave no indication. But of course, where would he go if he did manage to escape?

Leonardo stopped trying to resist and hung his head in defeat. Leonardo passed Samael on the way, who looked suspiciously after them.

He knew Samael would tell Raphael who purchased him. Leonardo closed his eye. He was going to be no help to Michelangelo and Donatello. All he had managed to do was get himself dragged into Hell, with no chance of escape.

He glared at Lucifer's back. He opened his mouth to tell him that he would never break, not matter what he decided to do to him, when he found he could not talk through a leather gag that appeared in his mouth.

Lucifer walked into an elevator and pulled him roughly inside. Lucifer glared down at him. "I don't want to hear it." He growled. "This had better be worth it." Lucifer grumbled as he hit a button on the panel.

Nausea rolled through Leonardo as the elevator began moving, the little light on the panel reading Hell level 1. He closed his eye but managed to stay on his feet.

The elevator dinged and the doors opened to an office. Lucifer dragged him out past a receptionist, who didn't even glance up, through a set of doors and straight up to a pane of glass.

After Lucifer had touched and opened the pane of glass and dragged him through he was unable to stay on his feet. He stumbled and fell to his knees.

"I have always found it interesting that, even though you are just barely solid, you still want to puke after being dragged through dimensional space. Especially considering you can't really feel anything." Lucifer said with a wave of his hand. A chair appeared behind Leonardo. Lucifer looked at a branding iron and placed it in a fire that was roaring in the fire place.

"Please, have a seat." Lucifer motioned for Leonardo to sit. Leonardo got shakily to his feet but did not sit. "I have some paperwork that must be completed before I continue."

Leonardo glared as he was pulled into the chair by an unseen force. His manacles disappeared only to be replaced by leather straps that bound his wrists, ankles and his neck to the chair.

Leonardo could hear the rustling of paperwork behind him.

"All sealed and legal." Lucifer sighed. "That is a depressing thought, oh well, one must do unpleasant things when the need arises I suppose. This next bit however, I am so going to enjoy."

Leonardo still did not speak.

"Your brother was a lot mouthier than you are. Even through his gag he wouldn't stop with the talking. Not much better when I removed the gag. I had to listen to, what he probably believed were, pithy little comments." Lucifer said with a smile. "Still nothing, oh well. Shall I see if I can make you scream?" Lucifer asked as he walked over to the fireplace and brought out the glowing red branding iron.

"This is going to hurt by the way, but it really is for your own good, sadly enough." He said with a sigh.

Leonardo began breathing steadily. He wouldn't feel the pain. He would fall deep into himself and block out everything that Lucifer was doing to him, and going to do to him.

The pain started out as more of a warm sensation that slowly began to build in intensity. Leonardo tried to find the calm place within himself but couldn't. There were too many thoughts intruding. He kept seeing Raphael's face pleading with him not to make the same mistakes he had.

Leonardo bit down on the gag as pain coursed through his shoulder. He felt the instant when he became completely solid. It was as if a cloudy haze had been ripped away from his body and he almost screamed in agony as the brand burned his flesh and all of his emotions became clearer, became real again. Fear crashed through him. Fear for Raphael, fear for Michelangelo, fear for Donatello and finally, fear for himself.

He felt the brand being removed, but the pain did not stop. "I am impressed not even a whimper." Lucifer said and the straps all disappeared to be replaced by manacles.

Leonardo opened his eyes and looked at his right shoulder. A double crescent moon, with tips pointing up and down was burned onto his flesh.

Lucifer looked at the brand in his hand. "Stolen brand. At least I am not falling completely into the hellish depths of goodness." Lucifer said with a smile. He put the brand down and walked over to a sideboard, reached underneath and opened a small door. He pulled out a bag of something. Lucifer walked back over to him and handed him a bag of ice. "Better ice that quickly, ice doesn't tend to stay long around here." Lucifer said with a shrug.

Leonardo took the bag of ice, placing it as best he could on his branded shoulder. He looked at Lucifer with suspicion. "Now if you are ready, I need to deliver you."

The collar and chain appeared around his neck again as Lucifer led him from the room. They went through the door, which led into the office. Lucifer did not slow when Leonardo stumbled. The nausea was even worse this time.

"I wouldn't puke if I were you. I think it would be unpleasant to choke on your own vomit." Lucifer said happily as he pulled him back into the elevator hitting the button that read DEATH INC.

* * *

Hmm...Now what is Lucifer up to?

Please please reveiw!


	12. Chapter 12

Chapter 12

The elevator began to move and Leonardo slumped to the ground. He began chanting the mantra of _I will not puke_ in his head. The elevator dinged and he was dragged into another office. A dark skinned man sat at the desk typing furiously on a laptop.

"Ahh Carlos, I am expected. Is Marwolaeth Yn Annwyl in her office?" Lucifer asked.

Carlos looked at Leonardo appraisingly then nodded motioning with his head.

Lucifer dragged him to the black double doors on the right, knocked lightly, then entered.

The Destroyer was sitting on a black throne on a raised dais. Death sat at a desk looking at a computer screen, while Mon sat on a black leather sofa typing furiously on a laptop.

Mon looked at him and squeaked.

"Ahh, the most beauteous Marwolaeth Yn Annwyl. I have come bearing a gift, or rather I have accepted your terms for the sale of this slave to you." Lucifer said with a flourishing bow.

The Destroyer who had been staring straight ahead lowered her head slightly to look at Lucifer. Lucifer stopped mid bow, the smile leaving his face. He straightened, The Destroyer following his movements. The room seemed unnaturally silent. The Destroyer held out a black, metal encased, clawed hand. Lucifer pulled a folded piece of paper from his jacket. He stepped as near to the dais as he seemed to dare, holding the paper out and placing it in her hand.

Leonardo's eye widened as he realized that Lucifer was scared of this goddess. The Devil himself feared her. Leonardo looked to the goddess he had only glanced at and wondered why Lucifer was so afraid. What made her so scary?

She folded her fingers around the piece of paper and stood. Bells chiming through the overly silent room. Lucifer stumbled back to get out of her way. She exited the room, not even glancing at Leonardo as she passed.

The chains binding his manacles together disappeared as did his gag.

"Well that was just about the scariest thing I have ever seen." Mon observed from the couch. "Hey Leonardo how's it going?" She asked him brightly.

Leonardo opened his mouth to reply when Lucifer cut him off. "Are we any further ahead in our investigation." He growled, obviously still shaken.

Leonardo decided to just stand and listen.

"I seriously hope that this was worth my trouble Death, because she just noticed me! She noticed me!" Lucifer shouted.

"Calm down Prince. If she was going to Destroy you, you would be gone already." Mon said to him. "We have discovered some key leads thanks to you."

Lucifer straightened the lapels of his jacket. "Fine. Keep me informed of any new information. Has Uriel been in contact?"

"They are running the numbers now. So far Heaven is short 165 souls that they have found. They are still working on it. How about Hell?" Mon asked.

"95." Lucifer answered. Mon looked at him surprised. "We have a lot of accountants in Hell. Our accounting department is usually quite accurate. Human error is a problem of course and it does happen, but not too often." He said with a cruel smile.

"And 463 as a combined number from the other Lesser Underworlds." Mon said.

Death was silent, but Leonardo got the impression that Death wasn't a big talker.

_837 missing souls _Death's voice toned.

"That many souls cannot just be an accounting error." Mon said, pigtails shaking wildly.

"Yes well, that is what minions are for." Lucifer said tugging at his cuffs. "Well I must be off, Hell doesn't run itself you know. Death." He gave Death a nod and turned his attention to Leonardo.

"I wish I could hope that Marwolaeth Yn Annwyl Destroyed you." Lucifer added as a parting shot, exiting the room.

Mon looked at Lucifer in confusion. "Huh, that was strange." She shook her head, closed her laptop, and stood.

"Come on, we will get you all settled in." She said to Leonardo but paused looking at Death. Death inclined his head and stood. Mon grabbed the chain that was still attached to the collar around his neck.

She led him out of the office, past Carlos, who she winked at, and into the elevator. "You better just sit down and try not to puke, I am so not cleaning it up if you do."

"Mon, what just..." Leonardo closed his eye as the sensation of seasickness rolled through him.

The elevator dinged and she dragged him out of the elevator. They were now in the living room of Death's house. She dragged him down the hallway and back into the room that he had first woken up in. "You can use this room. It is Marwolaeth Yn Annwyl's, but the only other bedroom in the house is Death's, and trust me when I say you do not want to stay in that room." She said smiling as she removed the collar from his neck.

"Mon, what is going on?" Leonardo said, frustrated anger leaking into his voice.

"Well I will get to that." She said shaking her head. "You are almost as bad as Raphael, so impatient."

"Now like I said, your personal belongings, what there were of them anyway are in the wardrobe over there. You are probably hungry so I will try to wrestle you up some food. Death and Marwolaeth Yn Annwyl don't eat so I always have to remember to bring over food if I decide I am in the mood to actually eat. I don't have to, but you do. There is no bathroom so don't bother looking. I have been trying to get Death to install one for two years now, but he said he has a bed he doesn't use and he is not going to install a bathroom that he won't use. Which is a shame because I could so use a shower or even a bath break every now and then. Oh well." She said with a shrug. "Oh and when you eat and drink you don't excrete waste anymore, neat huh?"

Leonardo blinked at her. He was feeling a little overwhelmed and a little overawed at the moment. Mon was like a force of nature, she just hit you with everything she had and you had no choice but to go along with her or be dragged roughly in her wake.

She walked to the wardrobe and brought out some clothes. "These are your new clothes." She said throwing a sleeveless blue tunic-like shirt on the bed along with black pants. "Underwear is in the dresser on the wall over there." She said motioning to the black, ornately carved wooden dresser. She picked something else out from the wardrobe. "Also, you are a slave so you have to wear this collar at all times." She said as she put a silver collar with blue sigils around his neck. "Don't try to take it off, or else it will be extremely unpleasant. Understand?"

Leonardo numbly nodded.

"Oh, and one last thing." She pulled a blue mask from the wardrobe.

"No." Leonardo said shaking his head.

"You don't have a choice Leonardo. It is part of her colours. I suppose you could wear the purple one, or the black one, but I thought you would prefer this one." She said handing him the blue mask.

He looked down at the mask in his hand and his heart hurt. Mon was of course right, he couldn't bear the thought of picking up Donatello's mask, or the one that Raphael had adopted.

Mon left the room and Leonardo changed out of the clothing given to him in The Pit. The tunic and pants seemed to be made out of silk. It was soft and cool against his skin. He looked at his chest where Her Mark had almost completely faded. Leonardo knew that within the next few days, the Mark would be gone. He closed his eyes in sorrow.

The idea of being a slave felt so wrong. To be owned by someone, to be property. But if it was what he had to do to get his brother's back, he supposed it would be worth the price. At least he hoped it would be.

He looked down at the mask in his hand. Brought it up to his face and tied the mask over his eyes. He had thought it would feel wrong, but somehow it felt right. He was going to find his brothers. Tying on the mask felt almost like he was preparing for battle.

He took one last look around the room and strode out the door to find Mon, and hopefully get some answers.

He found her back in the living room. "Good, okay so here is the deal." Mon said to him as he walked in. "You are Marwolaeth Yn Annwyl's property. That collar around your neck makes it so you cannot disobey any of her commands. You will only be able to do what your Mistress bids you, which might be a little awkward considering your Mistress is Marwolaeth Yn Annwyl. You may feel a tugging sensation, or the need to be somewhere, that is the collar doing its job. You are stuck with that for eternity. You also have to remember you are now a slave Leonardo. That means you have to act like one. You have an owner. She can ask you to do anything, and when I say anything, I mean _anything_. Marwolaeth Yn Annwyl is hard to read, but you have to show her the respect due to her station. She is a goddess, a very powerful one, and the highest ranking god on Darkrealm. I don't want to see you Destroyed. You must bow your head when she walks past, and if she summons you, or if you are in her presence, you must kneel down before her on one knee, head bowed. Understand?"

Leonardo nodded numbly.

"Now, if you noticed Lucifer's reaction when Marwolaeth Yn Annwyl looked at him, it is because she is scary. She doesn't usually pay attention to what is going on around her. She has moments where she seems to...notice things, but whenever she seems to notice anyone, bad things usually happen to them, mainly she Destroys them. I don't know why she noticed Raphael, but he got lucky, so did Lucifer this afternoon."

"Lucky?" Leonardo growled in disbelief.

"Yes, lucky, she hasn't Destroyed Raphael yet, and she didn't Destroy Lucifer either. Now if Marwolaeth Yn Annwyl is around don't get in her way and she will probably leave you alone. If she hasn't got you doing anything, you can help us sort out this mess with the souls and hopefully find your brothers."

"Now we and by we, I mean Death and myself, had Lucifer watch to see who was bidding on you. We figured it could not have been a coincidence that you and your brothers were all missing. Raphael managed to be processed correctly which means whoever took your brothers out of processing only did so after your existence was revealed. So Lucifer bought you for a stupid amount of money and we all agreed it would be best if the sale was put in Marwolaeth Yn Annwyl's name. She is the most powerful, and if need arises, the best able to protect you. Now, the sale is secret. So whoever wanted you, if they wanted you to say, add to their collection of turtles, will believe you are in Hell. So they will either have to go through Lucifer to get you, or they will not act thinking you are in Lucifer's tender care. It is no secret how much Lucifer hates you and your brothers for stealing The Golden Goddess' love. So if all they wish is to see you tortured for eternity, they should leave you alone." She said brightly.

Leonardo nodded. They were searching for his brothers, and the thought that he would be able to help lifted his spirits slightly. He wondered why, if Lucifer hated them so much, he had helped him? But he had a more troubling question to ask Mon."What is The Pit like?" Leonardo asked.

She looked at him and bit her lip. "I've never been to The Pit Leonardo. It is very expensive, even for the lowest seats. But I am guessing you are wondering about Raphael and what his treatment has been." Leonardo nodded. "I can't really say. There are rumours about The Pit and what the gladiators suffer when the crowds go home, but I don't know how much of that is true and how much is rumour."

"Just tell me what you know Mon." Leonardo said, bracing himself.

"Well, The Pit is run by The Council of the Gods, technically anyway. It is of course run by their underlings, but it is rumoured that Lucifer has a certain amount of push and pull in The Pit. Anyway Caligula is in charge of the gladiators. He was a Roman Emperor when he was alive, and rumour has it, Lucifer paid Hades quite a sum of money to get him out of the Underworld. I'm not sure if that is true or not, but let's just say Caligula wasn't one of the good Roman Emperors." She paused then continued. "They say that he is the one who tortures the gladiators at the behest of their patrons, and sometimes just for fun. I have heard that his taste in flesh runs more to the inhuman than human."

"He eats...?"

"No,no, he likes an unwilling bed partner, and the more inhuman, the better." Leonardo paled. Mon reached out and touched his hand. "The gladiators only come out of their cells to fight and, when they are solid enough, to eat and shower."

"So for the past seven years my brother has been locked in a cell, basically in solitary confinement, and has most likely tortured and raped." Leonardo said hollowly.

"Well, he has only been really solid for the last few months, so there would have been no point in..." Mon shut up at the anguished look on Leonardo's face.

"And that doesn't even include what Lucifer has done to him." Leonardo whispered.

Mon blinked. "What did Lucifer do to him?" Mon asked in surprise.

"Lucifer told me he had dragged Raphael to Hell and broke him."

"Lucifer said he took Raphael to Hell?" Mon asked in surprise. Leonardo nodded. "Raphael did have a bad losing streak for a bit, at least until he thought Marwolaeth Yn Annwyl had Destroyed you." She paused in thought. "But I suppose that explains why it was Lucifer who dragged Raphael here after I convinced Death to let Raphael say goodbye to you before Marwolaeth Yn Annwyl Destroyed your soul. I'm still amazed that she didn't by the way." Mon tapped her finger to her lips in thought. "It must be true that Lucifer has some sort of hold over Caligula, it would explain how he was able to get Raphael out. The Pit is very heavily warded."

"So Lucifer really did drag Raphael to Hell?"

"If Lucifer told you he dragged Raphael to Hell, then he dragged Raphael to Hell. Lucifer no longer lies, but you have to listen very carefully to what he says. He can take the truth and twist it so that you take the meaning the wrong way."

Leonardo was not comforted by her words.

"Wouldn't someone have noticed if Raphael had been tortured?" Hope flaring in him.

"Well, Raphael is bonded to Marwolaeth Yn Annwyl, but she would have to actually _notice_ he was being tortured, which is not her strong suit. She would know if his flesh was being meticulously cut or broken when it wasn't supposed to be, and the crystals they used to heal pull power directly from the gladiator's patrons, so if they were trying to hide his injuries they couldn't. You also have to remember that when the gladiators fight in The Pit, they can fight through most injuries that would normally kill you, but even their bodies give out eventually and say enough. Their bodies shut down, but of course, they don't die. So she would notice if his body shut down when it wasn't supposed to, but like I said all of this is contingent upon the ability of her to actually _notice_."

"Besides if Lucifer dragged Raphael out of The Pit, then the bond would be severed until he was back in The Pit. And if you are wondering about signs of torture, they have ways of healing the damage in Hell." A noise sounded and Mon looked at an hour glass she pulled from somewhere. "Listen Leonardo I have to go now. You can explore the house, but don't go into the Life Glass room. Big black door, distinctive hissing sound, big sign that says Death only." With that Mon got up and put her hand on his shoulder, and left.

Leonardo walked to the window, looking out over the gloomy barren landscape of dark rolling clouds, black grass, and gnarled twisted black trees that disappeared into the heavy oppressive mist. He tried and failed to stop the grief and agony that rolled through him. She was gone, Raphael was in The Pit having who knows what done to him, and Michelangelo and Donatello were missing, and he was a slave. He was powerless to do anything to help any of them, even himself.

* * *

It took a little while for Leonardo to get the hang of being a slave. It irked him to no end to have to act subservient to anyone, let alone this woman who was supposed to be his Mistress. He had to remember to bow his head when she walked by in a flurry of capes and bells, but she never really seemed to notice him. She would call him into her presence every now and then, usually at night. He would feel a distinctive tugging at his collar. He would usually find her in the living room seated in a chair by the fire. He would kneel down before her and resent every moment of it. He would wait for her to order him to do something, but she would never give an order. The tugging sensation would lift and without even looking at him he would be dismissed.

It continued on like this until one night he was summoned. He entered the living room and found his Mistress standing in front of the fire. He had been a slave for a month now, and besides occasionally being called to her side for no reason, he had found his Mistress to be undemanding. He was free to do whatever he wanted, and so spent much of his time with Mon trying to figure out who may have taken his brothers. When he had asked Mon about his Mistress' behaviour she had just shrugged and told him that she wasn't too surprised since basically they had given him to his Mistress.

"That is why Lucifer stole the brand from The Pit. Not only was the sale secret, but we didn't ask for Marwolaeth Yn Annwyl's permission to buy you, we just kind of did. She didn't Destroy you on sight and seemed to understand what was going on, so she must not have cared." She had said with a shrug, and then had launched into some other topic and the chance to ask her what she had meant by 'seemed to understand' was lost.

He walked close to her and knelt down before her. Some of the bitterness and hatred of having to be subservient had worn away, and he knew in his own mind he had begun to think of The Destroyer as his Mistress. "Yes Mistress." He said to her as he did every time she called him into her presence.

And like every other time, she did not answer him, but this time she walked to a wall, held out her hand, and a black door appeared. Leonardo wished he could feel surprised, but he had soon realized that Death's house was rather fluid. New doors would appear where none had been before. Like when the bathroom had appeared one day, much to Mon's delight. There was an oversized shower, tiled in black porcelain, on one wall. On the other wall was bath that was more like a very small pool. It was always filled with very warm water, had nice jet function, but it was the mosaic on the bottom that fascinated him. He was always trying to figure out what it was supposed to be. It was pretty, done in black, blue and purple tiles. It was more a swirling of shapes than an actual picture of anything, but for some reason it held his interest.

She walked through the door and felt the tug on his collar indicating for him to follow.

He stood and followed her through the door into an immense library. He looked around in shock. It was panelled in black wood, the shelves were also black wood, but the books were actually coloured. They looked to be bound in deep rich blues, burgundys, greens and purples. He looked at his Mistress in confusion. She had never seemed to have an interest in reading, actually as far as he knew, she had no interest in anything at all.

He glanced around the library again, then turned to where his Mistress had stood and found that she was gone. Leonardo looked around the library and began perusing the aisles. He did not want to actually find anything to read, but he was curious to know what this library held. It had surprised him to find that after several hours spent perusing, he was holding three books in his hands.

He had always read, it was one of the joys he had found in life. But he hadn't really read much after She had died. He hadn't thought about not reading, hadn't been conscious of the decision, but he just never had the time, or so he had told himself.

He looked at the three books in his hand. One was a comprehensive history of T'lae-ran, another was a history of Darkrealm, and the third was a copy of Jane Austin's _Pride and Prejudice_.

The next night he was reading quietly in his room when he felt the tug on his collar. He stood up, put the book down and walked into the living room. His Mistress was seated at her usual chair by the fire. She was always watching the flames. He knelt down before her. "Yes Mistress?" He asked.

She did not answer so he rose and looked at the chair occupied by his Mistress. By her feet a little to the right was a pillow, well not quite a pillow, more like a beanbag chair crossed with a cushion. It was made with black velvet shot with silver, and had blue tassels hanging from the corners of the back of the cushion. On the floor next the cushion was the book he had just been reading. He looked at it in shock and confusion.

He looked at his Mistress walked over to the cushion, bent down and picked up the book.

"Would you like for me to read this to you?" He asked as he tried to quell his anger and the possibility of having to sit at her feet like a lap dog.

She of course gave no answer either way. He flopped angrily down onto the cushion and decided if she wanted him to read to her, she was damn well going to have to ask.

He blinked in shock as he settled into the cushion. It was the most comfortable thing he had ever sat in...ever.

Human furniture was not meant to handle the fact that he and his brothers had shells on their backs, so everything had to have a super soft back to accommodate their shells. Even their beds had to have an unusually soft mattress, although they usually tended to sleep on their stomachs.

He snuggled deeper into the cushion. It felt as if it had been especially designed for him. He glance up at his Mistress who was staring into the flames. We he still wasn't reading to her. So Leonardo opened his book and began reading the history of Darkrealm, and trying to ignore the silent yet oddly comforting presence of his Mistress.

* * *

Leo's life as a slave...so far, not so bad


	13. Chapter 13

Chapter 13

One month had rolled into three and with each passing day Leonardo was getting more and more frustrated. They were trying to find a pattern to the disappearance of the lost souls, but with the exception of his brothers there didn't seem to be any connection. Leonardo looked over rows and rows of numbers adding and recounting.

Leonardo rubbed his eyes in frustration. It was getting late and he and Mon had been burning the midnight oil. He glanced at the memovid of today's match that was playing on the computer screen. Apparently they had lower-class demons that would watch the fights, have their memories removed, and the memories would be put on the god-net (their version of the internet). It was of course several hours old by the time it went viral, but if you didn't have the money to watch it live you either had to wait for the memovid, or listen to it on the radio(which they had). Leonardo knew Raphael had won today's match, but it was still hard to listen, and even harder to watch, but he did anyway.

"I can't believe that the gods find this to be entertaining." Leonardo grumbled.

Mon shrugged. "The Romans seemed to find it entertaining. Besides every one of those gladiators are there because they chose to be there. And believe me when I say with the exception of Raphael, those gladiators aren't exactly the cream of human or alien society. Let's put it this way, they chose to become Exo-Ouroboros because most of them were thinking they would take the chance that this Afterlife would be a better option than where they were headed. Granted some of them have unfinished business, like Raphael, but pretty much they are few and far between. Some even choose to become Exo-Ouroboros because they **want** to become slaves to the gods, because that is what they were in life and want to continue after death. The gods aren't all sadistic you know."

"Yeah just a big chunk of them." Leonardo grumbled.

Mon just shrugged.

"Wait, what did you say?"

Mon blinked at him. "The gods aren't all sadistic?"

"No, you said that they all chose to be Exo-Ouroboros, right?"

"Yes." Mon said in confusion.

Leonardo's brain kicked it into high gear as a glimmer of a thought began to form. "We haven't been looking at this the right way." He said suddenly as he channelled his inner Donatello.

He pointed at the screen. "We have been looking at this like it is a numbers problem, and wondering if the souls are connected in some way. But we should be looking at it like a crime, a theft. Who? Why? How? Where?" Mon blinked again."We don't know who took them, but if we figure out why they were taken, and how they were taken, we may find out where they were taken and who took them."

"Okay." She said slowly.

"Well why? Why would someone want to steal a soul, not just one soul, but hundreds of souls?"

"Besides possible revenge?"

"Besides possible revenge yes. What use is a soul?"

Mon tapped her finger to her lips. "Well, I suppose to eat?"

Leonardo blinked. "Eat?"

"Sure, if a Consumer god eats a soul they gain power."

Leonardo could just imagine Michelangelo saying _ewwww_ in his head. "Okay, that is one reason. How many Consumer gods are out there?"

"Not too many, I could get a list." She said.

Leonardo nodded. "What would be another reason? How about slaves?"

Mon shrugged. "I suppose so. There aren't exactly a ton of souls lining up to become slaves to the gods for eternity."

"How about workers?" Leonardo asked. "Surely the city of Darkrealm doesn't run itself. Builders, cleaning crews, maintenance workers, who does all of the things that make the city run?"

Mon shook her head. "I suppose slaves may be responsible for some of it, but...maybe."

"So possible reasons why, how about the how? Those souls were taken out of processing, so how did they do it? I was found in the ways, it's possible that whoever was transporting me was attacked by Rhenna and ran."

"Wait, wait..." Mon said thinking furiously. "Whoever it is or they are, they are using The Ways to transport the souls. And there aren't that many creatures that can access The Ways. Gods, Reapers, Death and Rhenna.

Leonardo looked at Mon. "That isn't very helpful. We still have millions of suspects."

"Okay, but it rules out, angels, demons, deities, demigods and spirits. Besides, we can rule out Death and we already know the Rhenna are consuming souls and taking Reapers, so that leaves the gods and Reapers" Mon sighed.

"But the how? I don't know. Limbo Level I's processing center is very heavily warded. Only those with access can get in and out. The Processors, Reapers, and gods of the dead would be the only ones able to get access."

"And my Mistress." Leonardo whispered.

Mon shook her head then stopped. "She ripped Raphael out of The Pit. The wards for the Pit are just as good if not better than those in Central Processing."

"But that would bring us around to the why. She is a Destroyer and Consumer, so she doesn't get anything out of eating a soul. She doesn't use you like a slave, hells, she doesn't even seem to notice you at all most of the time, so we can rule out her need for a slave let alone hundreds of slaves, and she has nothing to do with the city." Mon said with a shake of black pigtails.

"But what do we know about her?" Leonardo persisted. "After all, she already has two of us, what if she wanted all of us?"

"Then we would be back to this being all about you and your brothers and I just can't see 800 odd souls being stolen just to get you and your brothers. Besides we gave you to her, she didn't make the deal with Lucifer, we did, remember?" She sighed with frustration. "And as for what we know about her, a whole lotta nothin. Her and the Rhenna appeared about the same time, just after your goddess was Destroyed." Mon replied. "You can check her stats tomorrow. You need to get some sleep Leo."

"Her stats?" Leonardo asked as he stood up.

"Every god has a stats page, history, all that fun stuff, on the god-net. Just look up her name in the search engine and it will come up."

Leonardo walked to the door and paused as a thought hit him. "Have we taken into account the souls my Mistress has Destroyed in the ways? And the souls the Rhenna have eaten?"

Mon looked at Leonardo in shock. "Oh hells." She moaned.

Leonardo walked back into the room. "Go to bed Leo, I need to find Death, he's probably still in his office. We will pick this up in the morning." Mon closed her laptop and stood.

Leonardo nodded and headed for bed. Leonardo managed to put one foot in front of the other as thoughts of his brothers intruded. Raphael was close, so close to being free. Raphael had been on a winning streak for which he was grateful. He had forced himself to watch his other matches, the ones he had lost. Some nights he had nightmares about what had, and was, happening to his brother.

Leonardo lay down on his bed, sunk into the down mattress, and stared at the ceiling. Being a slave for his Mistress wasn't that bad. She had continued to call him into the living room every now and then, where he would read silently at her feet. It was if she wanted company he supposed. Death seemed to be a little bit of a workaholic and never really seemed to be around, not that his Mistress was around that much either, though she seemed to be in the house some nights.

So far the only time he had had a problem was, in a fit of frustration, he had tried to leave Death's house through the elevator one day. He had decided he was not so much escaping as being proactive in the search for his missing brothers. Mon had found him laying unconscious on the floor several hours later.

So he had to content himself with the ridiculously slow and tedious search through massive amounts of information databases. Leonardo wished that it was he who was missing, and Donatello who was the one trying to find him. He knew Donatello would have probably figured it all out by now. Pain washed through him at the thought of all his brothers. _How had things gotten so messed up?_ He wondered.

He must have finally fallen asleep because he was woken up by the feeling of being watched. He sat up quickly and looked at his Mistress who was standing by his bed...or technically her bed. "Um...I can move if you want to sleep." Leonardo said uncertainly. She didn't seem to be looking at him though, but it was hard to tell with the visor she wore over her eyes.

She was silent. Leonardo paused halfway in and out of the bed as a thought struck him. Mon's words rolled through his head, that she could ask anything of him, anything up to and including being her lover. Mon had said something about Death occupying the 'position' of Consort, but she had changed the subject before he could ask her what she had meant by 'position.' Sick apprehension rolled though him at the thought. He didn't want to touch her, couldn't think of even...

His Mistress turned away and walked to the door, bells ringing softly. She opened the door and paused. She didn't turn back but Leonardo felt the need to follow her.

He slid the rest of the way off the bed and padded through the silent house. Leonardo had never really noticed how much life and energy Mon brought to the house now that she wasn't around.

His Mistress' cloaks swirled around her. Leonardo wondered where the sound of bells always came from, and he was curious about the weapons that were strapped to her back, covered by the cloaks she wore, only the tips poking out through the slits that ran the length of the cloaks

She stopped at a door that had not been there before, and opened it. She entered not bothering to see if he had followed her or not. He walked into the round stone chamber. It was huge. Weapons of every description lined the walls. The gods seemed to be old school when it came to weapons, there were no firearms of any sort. Besides the weapons there were practice dummies, punching bags and even an archery range.

She turned and stood as if waiting for him to do something. "I don't understand what you want." He said to her as she silently stood. Slowly she reached over her shoulder and pulled out one of her weapons. Leonardo had never seen a bladed weapon like what she wielded, but now he knew where the sound of bells came from.

She stood at the ready, head slightly tipped towards the ground.

Leonardo looked at the array of weapons and searched out a set of weapons he had felt naked without. He found the katanas. The grips of the swords were even blue, but unlike his old pair, ribbons trailed from the ends, and the blade looked as if it had been forged by the gods, which it probably had been.

Leonardo had fought against a goddess before, and he knew he could never hope to win. Hell, it was going to be even worse with his eye. His depth perception had gotten better, but his reaction time was still slow. He took a few practice swings with the swords and paused.

He looked at his Mistress and realized that he wanted to ask her about Raphael and about his brothers. He needed to know if Raphael was being continuously tortured in The Pit. He knew Lucifer had dragged Raphael into Hell, and did who knows what to him, but...He needed to know. And his brothers, she could have taken them. He kicked himself for not asking sooner. He should have, all the nights spent reading comfortably by the fire, while Raphael was having who knows what done to him. He felt shame and anger burn through him then. Even though some part of his brain was screaming at him that he was wrong, that she would never ignore his brother's suffering, he needed to hear it from her lips.

"I want to know, has Raphael been tortured, has he been tortured in The Pit, and have you ignored his suffering if he has?" Leonardo asked, voice quiet and deadly. Rage rolled through him as if a dam had broke. He hadn't realized how much anger and fear and misery he had been holding back until it rolled over him like a tidal wave. "Where are my brothers! If you have taken them, if you have done something to them..." He growled. "You could have done it, I know you could have done it!" He yelled into the silence of the chamber.

Leonardo attacked. She moved to the right, out of the way of his swing, but he quickly turned, recovering and blocking her striking blade. She pulled back, then moved to his left. He could still hear her bells and so her weapons were easy to find, but as he turned he found she wasn't there. He turned to his right, bringing his sword up just in time to block her strike.

"Damn it!" Leonardo yelled as she pushed him to the ground. He rolled as her blade sliced through stone like it was made of butter. She pulled the blade out blocking Leonardo's strike.

Leonardo was trying to figure out what sort of fighting style she was using. She used both ends of the weapon, it would twirl and move and ring. He knew she had figured out his blind spot. She would sit in it for a few seconds here and there, but she never seemed to take advantage of it, which just made him angrier. Her silence made his rage boil. Strike after strike was blocked as she played with him.

He was panting hard and sweating. She was calm and collected, and the remembrance of other rage filled fights with another goddess hurt his heart and shocked him so badly he was barely able to block the next strike. He blocked it but his swords went flying. They clattered on the ground and he looked at the blade at his throat. She took several steps back and sheathed her weapon.

His anger still simmered under the surface, but he was tired, so very tired. He fell to his knees. He looked at her. Had he really fought that long? Had he really pushed himself that hard? He closed his eye as he collapsed into unconsciousness.

Leonardo didn't know how long he slept, but he woke up in the training room he had fought his Mistress in.

He stood up and stretched, trying to get the kinks out. Sleeping on the stone floor had been uncomfortable, and he wasn't as young as he used to be. But he supposed it wasn't like he was going to get any older either. Still, Leonardo found it strange that his body felt like it had when he had died. All of the aches and pains from so many injuries and battles were still present. He supposed that was the difference between going to your place of rest and becoming Exo-Ouroboros. But he guessed it made sense if he kept his scars that he would keep his other injuries too.

He looked to where his Mistress had stood. He had been an idiot to yell at her like he had. He had wanted to know, had felt so much fear for his brothers that he had kept it all bottled up until it had overflowed. He was lucky she hadn't just Destroyed him. He needed to know about Raphael, but he felt that even she didn't have the answers he wanted.

Something was also bothering him about the way she fought. It was familiar, yet...not. She was fast and accurate, but there was always a slight, delay. She seemed to never really look at him when she fought. She was acting almost as if. _Could she see through that visor?_ He wondered. She never really seemed to look directly at anyone, though there were a few times she would. And she never spoke. She didn't seem to listen to anyone either, and he wondered if it wasn't that she was ignoring everyone, but that she couldn't actually hear.

Leonardo looked around the room and wondered if he could keep the swords. He decided to put them back, but was determined to practice with them. His Mistress hadn't said he couldn't after all.

"Is she really blind and deaf?" He asked the presence behind him.

_It is hard to say. I believe that, she senses the world differently._

Leonardo looked at Death. "Can she talk?"

_Yes. But hope that she never does._ Was Death's cryptic answer. _She is becoming more...aware._

Leonardo looked at Death in confusion. "Aware?"

_Perhaps it is the passage of time. _Death looked at Leonardo. _Perhaps something is...shifting._ _Mon is waiting for you._

Leonardo blinked and Death was gone. Leonardo looked down at his rumpled clothes and shrugged. He left the training room and passed the door that led to the library. He stopped and looked at the door. If she was blind, and deaf, she would have no reason to have a library, and Death didn't read recreationally, so why the library? If it was for him, why create something for a slave? And how did she know he liked to read? He shoved the questions aside, they weren't important. But he did know for sure now, that she did not want him to actually read to her.

He strode to the living room where Mon was sitting on her customary black velvet sofa, fingers tapping relentlessly on the keyboard.

"Okay so I have it figured out." She said not even looking at him.

"Good morning to you too Mon." Leonardo said as she threw him a granola bar of some sort. He reached out and caught it. The smile disappeared from his face as he looked at the granola bar in his hand. A hand that had grabbed the flying object out of the air.

"What?" Mon asked as she looked at him. "Sorry Leo I forgot not..to..throw- You caught it." She said in surprise.

He looked at her in shock. There is no way he should have been able to catch it.

Mon narrowed her eyes at him. 'What were you doing in the 13th hour?" She asked him. "You still have the faint aura of one who's soul has been suspended in time."

"What?" He asked

"The 13th hour, Death's hour. How did you even enter it?"

"What?" He asked in confusion.

"Only Death and Reapers can enter the 13th hour. It is the time where there is no time."

"I was...I fought with my Mistress last night, in a training room." Leonardo's brow furrowed. "I don't know how long I was in there for. It didn't feel like it was a long time, but...I just thought I was really tired."

"You could have fought in there for the equivalent of days, and you wouldn't have noticed. Wait, what do you mean fought, as in you actually fought with her, with weapons?" Leonardo nodded. "No one has ever seen her fight. I mean she kills the Rhenna, but fighting against someone else, wow." She shook her head. "How did she get into the 13th hour?" Leonardo shook his head. "Huh. Well I guess we can add something else to her list."

"List?" Leonardo asked. No wonder he was so damn sore.

"I'll show you in a minute. But first..." He ate the granola bar as Mon filled him in on what she and Death had discovered last night. His Mistress had only Destroyed two souls and fourteen Reapers. The fourteen souls left by the Destroyed Reapers were delivered by Death, to their place of rest. So her totals weren't going to change much in the way of total souls. However there were 12,868 Reapers taken by Rhenna, and although most of the souls had been marked down as lost, there had been quite a few that hadn't. Which meant the amount of souls actually unaccounted for was more like 302, not 837.

"Still a lot of missing souls, but much better than our original number." Mon said as she pushed her laptop over to him.

"Here this is Marwolaeth Yn Annwyl's stats page." She said to him.

He looked at the screen and was reminded of trading card games. Each god had a certain amount of skill points, battle experience, and special abilities.

Marwolaeth Yn Annwyl

Name: Unknown

Title: Marwolaeth Yn Annwyl, The Destroyer

Age: Unknown

Battle abilities: Unknown

Weapons: Donkuir Blades

Armour: Obsidian steel gauntlets, shoulder guards and breast plate.

Items: Unknown

Special abilities: Voice, Frozen touch (unconfirmed), Teleportation (unconfirmed).

Religious Pantheon: Unknown

Planet of origin: Unknown

Consort: None

Acting consort: Death

Rank: Class 10

Standing: Class 10

Status: Active

"Pretty sad huh. We know nothing. Oh well, we can add, 'able to travel the 13th hour' in there under special abilities." Mon said taking back the laptop and updating his Mistress' profile. " I know you may think it is pretty silly, but it helps the gods figure out where they stand in the social pecking order. They have hundreds of Pantheons to deal with when they all come together like this; and they have to make sure they schmooze the right gods and are schmoozed by others." Mon said with a shrug.

"So she can freeze people?" Leonardo asked. "And what is Voice. Death told me he hopes I never hear her speak."

Mon looked at him in shock. "Did I not tell you about down Marwolaeth Yn Annwyl's quirks? Wow and you are still alive, amazing. Well, she won't speak cause if she did, she'd kill you. Not on purpose mind you, but her voice is just that powerful, even on the godly plain, her voice harms gods too. And have you never wondered why she is so wrapped up? Only the lower portion of her face is uncovered. That is because if you touched her bare skin, you would freeze to death instantly. If you touch her armour, you can get away with possibly not freezing to death as long as you don't have contact for that long. Even Death can only touch her for so long before his bones begin to freeze. She can't kill him per say, and he doesn't feel pain, but I think if she froze him solid, he would be trapped in a very cold icy prison."

Leonardo looked at Mon as his thoughts tumbled around. Suddenly his attention turned to the radio that had been turned on. "I didn't know Raph was fighting so early!" Leonardo exclaimed.

"Who says it's early. It's nearly 2:00pm." Mon said as she stopped to listen to the fight.

* * *

Raphael returns in the next chapter =) hope you enjoyed this one!


	14. Chapter 14

Chapter 14

Raphael fell to his knees, the warm sand grating on his skin. The roar of the crowd was deafening, but his ears barely registered the noise. He looked at the gladiator that lay beside him. His Kopis blade driven through his heart so hard and deep that the blade was at the moment several inches in the ground.

He took a mouthful of air as he felt her power over him break. The cold, bleak, empty power that had ridden him for seven years was gone. He closed his eyes. He now held the record for managing to fight his way out of The Pit in the shortest amount of time, and he knew it was all thanks to his patroness. He knew most gods and goddesses only allotted small amounts of their power to their gladiators, but he had felt her jamming as much power as his body could hold, and now he was free. The manacles that had bound his wrists and ankles for seven years fell to the ground. He was free. He looked at his ex-patroness's box. He saw the flicker of movement behind the recently closed curtains. Raphael stood and raised his arms to the cheering crowd.

He thought he would feel elated or relieved, instead he felt impatient and a little lost. Michelangelo and Donatello were still missing, and Leonardo had been bought by Lucifer. Lucifer had dragged his brother to Hell, and it would be for an eternity.

With these thoughts rolling around in his head, he grimly exited The Pit for the final time. He walked to his cell, or rather his ex-cell to pick up what little possessions he had, and get the hells out of this misery plagued Hell hole.

Samael was waiting by his ex-cell when he arrived. He had a smirk on his face and held a stack of letters in his hand. "One hundred years my ass, Sam." He said with a smirk.

"Yes well, I did not take into account the awesome power of the cold and incredibly frightening Marwolaeth Yn Annwyl." Sam said with a self depreciating smile.

"So what's with the letters?" He asked as he walked into his cell to grab his clothes, Her bow, and most importantly, his memographs. It had hurt taking the memographs Leonardo had entrusted to Samael, 'just in case.'

"Oh these?" Samael asked leaning against the door. "These are special requests for your services." Some emotion was rolling around Samael's eyes, but he couldn't identify it.

"Oh yeah, what kind of services, and sent by who?" He asked as he ripped off armour and Pit clothes. He put on his jeans, t-shirt, trench coat, black mask and lastly his fedora. He tucked his and Leonardo's memographs into his pocket and strapped Her scabbard to his back.

"Oh you know, requests from various goddesses who want a piece of your hot body to keep their lonely beds warm at night."

"I'm not hot, my body temperature is colder than a human's." Raphael said automatically, as he took the letters in confusion.

"That's not the type of hot I was talking about." Samael said with a smile that didn't quite reach his eyes.

"Seriously?" He asked as he opened the first letter.

"Well, when gladiators do get out, sometimes it is not unusual for them to get a patron or patroness of another sort. At least until they tire of him and decided to get a new lover. But, I hear it is not a bad gig." He said with a shrug.

Raphael began reading the letter and blushed. "All of these letters are some goddess wantin' me?"

"Well there may be a few gods mixed in there as well, but essentially yes."

Raphael closed his eyes and folded the letter up. It was a nice thought. Hell, it was a nice feeling to actually be wanted as a man. Even though he knew part of it was because of what he had just accomplished, part of it may even be because they wanted to know what She had seen in him. He handed the bundle of letters to Samael. "Keep them, burn them, I don't care. I'm not any goddess's piece of tail. I'll only ever belong to one goddess." He said as he looked around his cell. He wouldn't miss this place, but he knew it could have been so much worse. That thought is what had gotten him through the seven years he had been imprisoned here.

Samael took back the letters and they began to burn in his hand. He gave him a devious smile that reached his eyes. "You may just have offended a few gods and goddesses."

"Yeah, well they can just kiss my ass." He said as he strode from his cell.

He walked down the winding tunnels that would lead him into the outside world, and into the city of Darkrealm. A city he had only ever heard of. Samael escorted him. "Can I get to Hell from here?" He asked Samael as he stopped at the row elevators that Lucifer had dragged him through.

Samael shook his head. "Gods, deities, etc, only I am afraid. You can't get to Hell from Darkrealm, but you might want to check out Death Inc. Your ex-patroness is there, as well as a friend I believe. Here take this, you may need it." Samael handed him a bag of what sounded like coins and a map of the city. "Good luck Raphael."

Raphael stared at what Samael had given him. "How long until your debt is repaid?" Raphael asked him, trying to keep unexplained tears that threatened to fall, back. It was harder leaving this demon who had become his friend, had been his friend for the past seven years.

"My debt will never be re-paid, but I think...maybe, I have done some small thing to at least lessen the debt. But perhaps one day soon, I shall have the opportunity to at least find a way to live happily with my debt." He said with a sad smile.

Raphael looked at him in shock as Samael turned and walked back the way he had come, disappearing into the gloom of The Pit.

Raphael turned back to the doorway guarded by two Nagi. They opened the door for him and he was ushered out into the city of Darkrealm.

Raphael's first impression of the city was awe. It was actually beautiful. Not that he went around studying architecture and thinking about how pretty a place was, but it was nice. There were buildings of all types squashed up next to each other. Roman columned buildings were mashed up against English style cottages, that butted up against skyscrapers. It shouldn't have worked. It should have looked like a history book puked all over the cobbled roadways, but somehow, there was a strange unity to the place.

As Raphael looked around, his gaze fell upon a building that had occasionally dominated his thoughts. The building that kept Darkrealm anchored in existence. A building that had once housed his goddess. He knew where he should go. Death Inc. was located to the west. When he got there he would try to find Mon, maybe figure out some sort of plan to get Leonardo out of Hell. All he had to do was stop one of the horse drawn carriages that served as taxis in this place and it would take him straight there. But he found himself instead walking towards the dark eerie structure that loomed over the city.

The double suns warmed his skin as he was stopped along his journey several times by creatures, gods, and people, wanting to shake his hand, sign autographs, and pose for memories. It was disturbing, but he eventually managed to duck into an alleyway and began sticking to the shadows, avoiding any more well wishers, or offers of 'patronage'.

The road leading up the Her castle was pitted and cracked. Many of the cobles were missing. The green and lush vegetation that existed here was trying to reclaim the Castle. But the Castle refused to be reclaimed. It was massive. It was taller than any skyscraper and reflected obsidian black as the light shone off its surface. The place looked like it was straight out of a horror movie. All it needed was to be perched precariously upon a cliff with thunder and lightning crackling in the background, an a mad scientist making some sort of monster in a lab. Seriously the place was creepy just from the outside.

He looked at his map. The castle's structure was built in the shape of an eight sided star. He looked up at the two imposing guard towers. The gates were open and the metal portcullis was raised.

**Do not enter on pain of consumption** signs littered the entryway.

Raphael ignored them all. He wanted to see where She had lived. He walked through the gates and up a long wide cobbled roadway. At the end of the roadway there was another gate. He looked at his map. It was a bird's eye view of the city but it was detailed enough that he was able to see the layout of the Castle. There seemed to be the two guard towers he had already passed through, which led to the second defensive wall. As far as Raphael could tell this castle was built to withstand a serious siege attack. There were four other larger guard towers and four main towers that made up the main body of the castle. He walked through the second set of gates, striding purposefully down the roadway, trying not to let thoughts of what an idiot he was being intrude. He reached the set of double doors that would lead him into the actual inside of the Castle.

The doors were closed but ominously creaked open as he approached. "Cause that's not creepy or anything." Raphael grumbled as he walked through the 3' thick black wooden doors. Torches began lighting themselves as he entered a round chamber of some sort, doors creaking shut behind him. Orange light flickered and danced along grey stone walls.

What he didn't understand was, how a Castle could eat someone? Not like he wanted to find out, but the idea to him seemed, ludicrous.

He looked around the very massive, very empty round chamber. was massive. There were no rugs, tapestries, furniture or anything within the main chamber. The only this in the chamber were four life sized (he was guessing) stone statues dragons holding up the ceiling. "Now those I could see eating me." He said to himself.

In the center of the room was a massive spiral staircase leading up to the next level or down below. Raphael knew he probably didn't want to see what was down.

Of course he had the other option of checking out the other 15 doors that wound their way around the chamber. Raphael looked at his map. Four of the larger doorways with double doors would lead to the battle towers while three would lead to the other main towers. He tried all of the other smaller single doors first. He found guard quarters, a mess hall, a kitchen, a formal dining hall, exits to the castle grounds, more sleeping quarters, and an armoury. But all of these rooms would have been useless to his Goddess so he moved on without entering a single one.

As he walked around the chamber he noticed that three of the doors were marked with strange symbols. He randomly chose the tower on the right and pushed open the copper-red coloured doors. Torches lit down a hallway that led to another set of doors, also inscribed with writing he couldn't understand.

He opened this set of doors which led to a library of some sort. A fire began to blaze in a fireplace in the middle of the circular room, torches again lit the room with warm torchlight.

The chamber held nothing but books and a chair. There wasn't even a book laying out that She may have been reading before She was called away to battle the Syna. He heard the scraping of metal on stone. The flames of the fireplace disappeared and a door opened behind the grate. All he could see through the doorway was darkness. "Not that stupid." He said to the Castle. He turned around and exited the library.

He explored the next tower. This one contained a throne room with a pure white marble throne. Banners and tapestries lined the walls, he even found Heterion's flag, a gold background with a black butterfly. He heard stone scraping on stone as a passage opened behind the throne. "Still not that stupid!" He yelled at the Castle.

He exited the throne room and entered the last chamber on the main floor. As he entered the chamber he could see a shimmering surface. Torches lit in this chamber more slowly than the other two. "And they think you are only partially sentient." He grumbled as he slowly made his way across a bridge that spanned the pool. Raphael stopped as the chamber finally finished illuminating itself. He sniffed the air. He didn't have a great sense of smell but it smelled like blood. He looked to each side of him. The bridge spanned a large pool of blood. Literally a swimming pool amount of blood. On the far end of the chamber there was a white blood spattered altar. Raphael began backing up slowly. The pool rippled. He turned to run as a skeletal arm reached out from the blood and clutched his ankle. More skeletal figures began emerging. "Shi.." He fell hitting the white stone walkway hard. They began dragging him towards the altar. He struggled. He reached for weapons he hadn't had in over a thousand years. Then he remembered. He grabbed at the scabbard "Ona!" He yelled at it as it turned into a black re-curve bow. He pulled back the string and shot at the skeletal creatures trying to sacrifice him. They screamed in agony as the arrows destroyed them. "You want a piece of this!" He yelled at the retreating figures that sank back into the now still pool.

"Question answered, on how a Castle can eat you." He said as he backed towards the door that had closed upon his entrance. Raphael was able to pull the door open.

He looked at his blood soaked arm. His blood dripped to the floor where it was absorbed by the stone. "Creepy ass Castle." He grumbled. He was beginning to feel a little disheartened. He looked at the spiral staircase that led up.

He climbed the steep stone steps, trying not to look down. He emerged into a another round chamber. There were eight doors and two hallways that led outside. He tried several of the doors and only found empty generic bedrooms. Very nice lavishly decorated bedrooms, but he had the impression that they were some sort of guest bedrooms.

He walked onto the open air walkway. A gargoyle was perched over the entrance to the tower. Raphael watched the stone figure for any signs of movement. He was able to open the chamber without the gargoyle coming to life and attacking him.

He looked around the lit chamber and grimaced. The entire chamber was made of bones. The floor and walls were made entirely of long bones. The four columns in each corner that held up the roof were made of various piles of bones. There was even a lovely bone chandelier hanging from the roof. Long bones created most of it, but there were various types of grinning skulls that served as torch holders.

The focal point of the room however, was the bone gate at the far end. Complete skeletons were bound together in various torturous positions screaming in silent empty-eyed agony.

Raphael backed out of the room before any of the skeletons started moving. "Jeez this place is a hell hole, thought up by some sadistic bastard."

He walked back through the chamber and tried the other tower, which wasn't much better. This room was somehow more horrific than any of the chambers he had been in so far. This room looked like it was used as a chamber for slaughter. It was completely empty, but blood marked the walls, roof, floors, everywhere there was the splatter of blood. But it was the signs of struggle that were the worst. There were hand prints, drag marks, and fingernail grooves scoring through stone.

Raphael felt ill as he exited the chamber. He breathed in fresh air. It was a Castle of Horrors, but the question was, had it always been like this, or was this the result of the Castle devouring everyone and anyone who dared enter its Master-less walls?

Raphael stumbled back into the round chamber. He walked around in a circle three times trying to find an entrance to the third tower he knew was there. He stopped in front of a blank wall looking for any sign of a secret passage. He put his hand on the cold stone. "Open sesame." He said to the wall. The wall began to move.

"You've got to be joking me." He said as he glanced into the lit chamber. "That is so stupid and so utterly...you" He whispered. He closed his eyes. So far in this entire sadistic creep show of a Castle, he had found the one thing that was totally and utterly Her. Her sense of the absurd.

He stepped into the passageway that led to a set of copper-red double doors inscribed with more writing. He pushed them open and was confronted by a large black four-pollster bed sitting on a slightly raised dais. Black and red satin sheets with a ridiculous amount of pillows adorned the bed. There were various braziers set up around the room. He slowly stepped into the room. Beyond the bed on another raised dais was a large stone tub. He looked around the room and looked for anything that reminded him of Her. But even here, in her inner sanctum, there was nothing.

He stepped up onto the dais and looked at the bed. A bed that had probably never been used. He caught movement out of the corner of his eye. He turned towards the only window he had seen in this place. She was standing there, staring out the window. Capes swirled around her still form as she glanced over her shoulder. The light hit the curve of her chin, caressed cupids bow lips, and trailed down the supple length of an alabaster white neck.

Raphael's breath caught in his throat. The light of the suns glinted off the silver visor she wore. Then she vanished in a flurry of ringing bells.

Raphael blinked. Pieces of a puzzle he had known existed, but hadn't put together fell through his mind until they formed a picture. He blazed with hurt and rage. He stumbled, blindly through the corridors and passageways that made up the Castle.

Somehow he made it to Death Inc. Rode the elevator up to Death's office and charged into the office on the right.

The office was empty. "Where is she!" He roared at the top of his lungs.

A light hand grabbed at his shoulder. He turned ready to strike and stopped himself short of hitting Mon in the face.

"You're free!" She said looking at his fist with worried eyes. "Raphael what in the gods names is wrong with you?" She asked a worried expression on her face.

"Where is she Mon?" He asked in a deadly voice.

"I...I don't know...you...you could try Death's house." She whispered clearly afraid of him. A small part of his brain acknowledged the fact that he was threatening and scaring Mon, but at the moment he didn't care.

"Take me there. Now!" He growled.

Mon hurried from the office and hit the button for the elevator. He had hit the point of a blind, all consuming rage. The elevator door opened and Mon hit the button that read Death. He barely felt the nausea, and didn't acknowledge it. Mon looked at him with worried, fear filled eyes. The doors opened and he strode to the figure standing with Death. If there was anyone else in the room he didn't notice. All of his attention was focused upon 'The Destroyer.'

"Why!"He shouted at her. "Why the elaborate ruse, why pretend to be this big scary goddess? Why pretend not to know me!" He shouted at her. Her body was turned towards him, but she was not looking at him "It is the biggest lie never told! That is what Lucifer said! That is why Lucifer altered that memovid! That is why Death lied to the gods! There was never a god that went mad from looking into your eyes! The elaborate headdress hides everything. You are covered from head to toe so no one can see any of your body, never feel a touch that might give you away! And you never speak in case someone might recognize your voice. It was all lies! " He heard voices yelling at him, but he ignored them. He strode over to her. "I came here to avenge your death! Seven years of fighting in The Pit, for what? To find out that you are alive and well and apparently feel nothing for me anymore!" He roared as he reached out and grabbed her headdress wrenching it off her head. Black hair that was more shadow than actual hair, fell from the headdress obscuring her face. Her hair began whipping around her face as if it was caught up in a windstorm. Her eyes were closed, but she opened them revealing not the moss green eyes that he had been so absolutely sure lay beneath the visor, but rather, her eyes opened revealing not eyes at all. Instead he fell into eyes that held the universe within their depths. He saw the rotating of planets, the twinkling of stars, the shooting of comets, the slow movements of meteors, and he felt himself falling into the cold, bleak, emptiness of her eyes.

_You know not what you have done. _Death's words echoes in his mind as he knew nothing else.


	15. Chapter 15

Chapter15

Leonardo watched in horror as Raphael confronted His Mistress. Leonardo's joy at seeing his brother was replaced by absolute terror as he spouted wild accusations at her. Accusations which made no sense to him, other than the impression that Raphael seemed to think that his Mistress was...Her. He ripped the headdress off her head and whatever he saw made him stop and stare.

Death replaced her headdress. _You know not what you have done. _Death's ominous words toned through his head as he held The Destroyer close. She looked at Death and vanished.

Leonardo and Mon ran to Raphael who still stood, as if frozen. Leonardo looked at his brother in horror as it looked as frost had formed on his face, and hands. Raphael blinked and began to shake with cold. "Ssssss...ooooo...ccccc...oooo..lllll...ddddd." Rapahel managed to say.

"Mon, blankets now!" Leonardo ordered as he dragged Raphael over to the fire place. The black fire crackled and popped in the grate producing a little bit of heat. The fire flickered as a dark purple flame would occasionally appear here and there.

Leonardo held his brother as Mon rushed in with the comforter from Leonardo's bedroom. "Sorry this is all I could find. It is not like either of them get cold...well Marwolaeth Yn Annwy is probably always cold." She shook her head and wrapped Raphael up as best she could.

Raphael's body was wracked with uncontrollable shaking. He waited patiently as his brother's shaking began to subside.

"Llll...eeeee...oooo?" His brother asked in question.

"I'm here Raph, you're going to be okay, you just need to get warm."

"Hhhh...oooo..wwww...Lllluuuucccciffff."

"Raph, please just stop trying to talk. My Mistress...The Destroyer, bought me from Lucifer. I have been here for three months. We'll talk about it later, just concentrate on warming up." He pleaded as his brother nodded.

"Mon, watch him, I'll be right back." Leonardo said softly.

"I ccan hhear you Ll..eeo." Raphael grumbled.

Leonardo ignored him and walked into Death's kitchen. Death had a kitchen, it looked like a Kitchen, but of course it hadn't really functioned like a kitchen. Death did not eat, apparently neither did his Mistress, but there was a wood burning stove and a kettle. With Mon's help Leonardo had managed to turn the kitchen into something approaching functional.

He quietly warmed up the water and attempted to quell the fear that had flowed him at the thought that he had lost his brother...again.

He poured the hot water into the black mug and let it steep. He removed the strainer and loose tea leaves.

He picked up the mug and walked it back into the living room where Raphael was struggling against Mon, who was trying to keep him seated in front of the fire. She must have been stronger than she looked because she was doing a good job of keeping him down.

"Raphael, please stay down!" She pushed him down. At the rate they were going they were both going to end up _in_ the fireplace instead of in front of it.

"Let me go, I already told you, I'm fine!"Raphael shouted.

Leonardo sighed, but it was a contented sigh. If Raphael was that angry it meant he was alright. "It's okay Mon, I've got it from here. Have some tea Raph, and when you are done, you are going to tell me what you were trying to do." Anger had begun to creep into his voice and he tried to hold it back.

Raphael glared at him, but took the offered tea. "You know I hate the taste of this stuff Leo." He grumbled as he managed to take a sip. "Yep, it tastes as bad as I remember." Raphael stared gloomily at his mug, but began talking. "I thought it was Her Leo. I know I'm an idiot, but all of the pieces, it just made sense." Raphael said not looking at him.

"I'm confused." Mon said to Raphael. "How did you think Marwolaeth Yn Annwyl was your goddess? The gods Destroyed her."

So Raphael told Mon about everything Lucifer had told him. Mon frowned in confusion. "But Mon don't say anything to anyone understand." Raphael pleaded.

"Of course not. I'm not an idiot. If the Council of the Gods found out, there would be trouble." She said solemnly.

They both looked at Raphael again in concern. "It made sense, The Destroyer appears around the time She disappears, she is covered from head to toe so you can't see any of her. She never speaks so you can't hear her voice. Her mannerisms, and from what I could see of her face, she looked like Her Leo. She claimed me as her gladiator, she saved you, and I swear I smelled a burst of Her smell come from The Destroyer. It all made sense. Where better to hide than in plain sight? Everything about her sounded like rumours, some god went insane pulling off her visor, but no one ever says which god. They say she can freeze you with a touch, but no one had ever claimed to have seen it. All of these rumours that are all unsubstantiated. And the Castle, The Destroyer was in the castle Leo, acting like she owned the place. But, I guess I just didn't want it to be true, I guess I just wanted to hope, but, I just ...was wrong."

Leonardo looked at his grief stricken brother. Mon reached out and touched his arm, he flinched away. She pulled her hand away and looked at him seriously.

"Raphael. The god who ripped off her visor and went insane was Zephyr, he was a god of winds. I have seen her touch Death, and his bones freeze. She melted the brain of Loki, when she first appeared. Loki recovered, but all of this happened over a thousand years ago. The rumours have circulated, and they have forgotten specifically who did what to whom and the stories change, but if you look far enough back into the Mythos Archive you can find the truth. As to why she did what she did for you and your brother. I don't know. Has she been acting a little off, yes. She doesn't act this way normally."

"Death said she was becoming more _aware._" Leonardo said softly. Raphael had wanted it to be Her so badly he had almost gotten himself killed, or he supposed Destroyed.

Mon shrugged, but turned her attention back to Raphael. "How do you know Marwolaeth Yn Annwyl was in the Castle?" She asked.

Raphael shrugged. "I was there." He said softly.

Mon blinked at him. "You saw her from outside the Castle?"

"No Mon, I was _in_ the Castle."

Mon looked at him in horror. "Do you have some sort of Destruction wish because you seem to be doing everything ion your power to end up Destroyed. No one has gone into that Castle and made it out. No one. And we would know about it if they did because they wouldn't shut up about having gone in there and made it out!"

"I did, but I'm not going to brag about it. That place was horrible Mon, and don't get me wrong the Castle tried to eat me, but I managed to get out. Shot a few skeletons with this." He said pulling Her scabbard from his back.

Leonardo and Mon looked at it in shock. "But..." Leonardo began. He remembered burying the scabbard with Raphael. How did it end up here?

"Yeah, you buried it with me Leo, godly weapon took the trip with me. Anyway the Castle didn't try too hard to eat me after that."

"It wouldn't it was probably confused. This is your goddess' weapon." Mon said in awe as she touched it.

"The Castle, it was a nightmare. Literally. I have never seen anything so...gods I don't know if what I saw was what the Castle was, or what it has become, but that place was built by a sadistic monster." Leonardo looked at him in surprise. "I didn't even see the basement Leo, and I am probably glad I didn't cause the rest of the place was bad enough. Chambers of blood, chambers of bones, chambers where people had obviously been slaughtered. There was nothing of Her there Leo. At least nothing that I found." He shook his head. "I don't know what to think of that place. If it hasn't changed since She lived in it I have to wonder why She would have lived in such a horrific place, but then I remember those Demons she killed and..." He couldn't finish the thought.

Leonardo looked at him his features grim. "Mon what can you tell us about the Castle?"

Mon blinked at them. "Well everything you want to know about the Castle is on the 'net. Your goddess' page is even still up. They kept trying to remove it but someone kept putting it back up. Finally they just gave up and left it there." Mon stood up and fished for her laptop bringing it back to them and giving it to Raphael.

Raphael looked at the computer blankly. Icons seemed to always be shifting and moving, and none of it was in English..

Leonardo grabbed the laptop, sat, and began typing. Raphael looked over his shoulder. "They have the operating system from Hell, and I am talking literally. Donny would have a field day with this. Takes a while to get used to. I can't do anything but look on the 'net so don't look at me to do anything more." Leonardo said with a slight smile at the thought of Donatello trying to figure out how the complicated computer system worked. Then he felt the stirring of panic regarding his missing brothers. He stomped the panic down and focused on the brother he knew was there.

Somehow Leonardo managed to pull up the profile of Goddess.

There was a sketch beside a list of her stats as well as a massive history.

Andora

**Name:** None (Andora was an adopted name, not a True name)

**Title:** The Golden Goddess

**Age:** Unknown

**Battle abilities:** Class 10

**Weapons:** _Morte Morossus_ (location unknown), _Cuthach Fuilteach_ (location unknown), Sword of Light (Destroyed), Black re-curve bow (Location unknown)

**Armour:** Steel shoulder guards, shin guards, armoured boots, clawed gauntlets.

**Battle Armour**: Steel breast plate, shoulder guards, shin guards, metal plated tail (poison tipped) Razor plated wings (poison tipped) Clawed gauntlets.

**Items:** None

**Special abilities:** Unknown

**Religious Pantheon:** Head of all T'lae-ran Pantheons

**Planet of origin:** T'lae-ran

**Consort:** None

**Rank:** Class 10

**Standing:** Class 10

**Status:** Destroyed

Her History was huge. It would take them forever to read through it all. They looked at Mon. "Can we just get the Cliff notes?" Raphael asked looking at the screen.

"Um.." Mon said in confusion.

"Just tell us everything you know about Her Castle." Raphael said with exasperation pointing to the screen."And why does it look like we are about to play a game of D&D? Battle class 10, Rank class 10? What's it all mean?"

"She was a 10 out of 10 for her fighting ability, and had a god class ranking of 10 out of 10. So she had the highest ranking of all of the gods within her own Pantheon."

They looked at her blankly. She sighed and rubbed her temples. " So for example Zeus, Odin, and Osiris, would all have the same Rank, as her. But you have to remember that just because she was the same Rank as say Zeus, it didn't mean they were in the same Standing, which is how she would rank in regards to all of the other Class 10 gods. So Zeus' standing comes in at about a 4 out of 10. So your goddess was basically top of the godly heap, most of the gods of T'lae-ran are some of the highest Standing of gods on the godly plain."

"Why?" Leonardo asked.

"Because they have the most believers. Imagine a whole planet where everyone believes you exist. That is a lot of power. They have several different Pantheons, so think of it like...the Greeks, Egyptians and the Norse, all believed in their gods of Zeus, Osiris and Odin. With me so far?" He and Raphael nodded. "Okay now imagine all three of those countries weren't fighting with each other over whose gods are best, imagine instead an absolute unity of belief. That is what makes them so strong. As for your goddess, she was at the top of this pile because she was the head of her own Pantheon, granted it was just her, but in a world ruled by magic having her stand alone wasn't too surprising. But she was also the ruler of all of the other Pantheons, and that Castle was the seat of her power. So what Olympus was to Zeus, Darkcastle was to her."

"Who is Zeus again?" Raphael asked.

Mon rubbed her temples. "What Hell is to Lucifer, the Seat of his power, make sense?"

"But...that...You are telling me that Castle was like...Hell. Okay well I've been inside I can tell you it is, but...Hell is huge , and it's full of dead people." Raphael exclaimed.

"Olympus wasn't full of dead people. Think of it more like a Palace to a King. The Palace is the seat of the King's power. Palace falls, Kingdom falls.

"But that Castle was..." Raphael began.

"Pure evil. I know. Why are you two so interested in the Castle anyway?"

Leonardo and Raphael remained silent.

Mon narrowed her eyes. "Oh I see, you want to figure out if your goddess was a sadistic, depraved, murdering, psychotic bitch huh?"

Raphael and Leonardo looked at her in shock. "I...wouldn't put it quite like that..." Leonardo stammered.

"It's okay, can't say I blame you, not all of the gods are crazy, just most of them. Comes with being bored, some gods have way too much time on their hands. But from what I hear, your goddess was one of the good ones. Let me see, as I said it used to be called Darkcastle. Real original name for a black castle I know, but it wasn't named because of its colour. It was named because of its nature. Hence the name of the city of Darkrealm, because everything falls under the shadow of Darkcastle. And I mean that Literally. There are no structures built outside where its shadow falls."

"Anyway, Diemortia had it built on the mortal plain, it was a place of torture, sacrifice and black magic. You name it, it happened in that place. Anyway, a building witnessing that much, horror, agony, death, and black magic, well it became at least a little aware. Then Diemortia vanishes and the Castle waits."

"The Castle had become more legend than reality by that time. And belief, especially on T'lae-ran, can make things real. Your goddess shows up and by then the waiting Castle is almost alive, and all it wants is death, and for blood to run through its halls and chambers. It wants to hear the screams of the dying and the terrified. The Castle is hungry. But She made the Castle into more than it was." She said as if trying to make them understand.

"She did that a lot." Raphael said grimly.

"Yeah, she did." Mon said to him. "She takes the Castle, which is power with a capital 'P' all on its own, and has it straddle all three plains of existence at once. She makes the Castle like herself. She existed within all three plains of existence at once. The Castle's physical location moved, becoming reality in each of the plains every 4 months, but it's psychic presence existed continuously on all three plains. The Castle didn't start out as a Seat of Power, she made it a Seat of Power, and one of the most powerful Seats ever created."

"Okay I still don't get what the big deal is. So the Castle is evil, and so it was on all three plains so what?"

"Don't you see, the Castle became the center of a Triumvirate of Power." She said to him.

"A tri- what?" Raphael asked in confusion.

"Your goddess was incredibly powerful all on her own, but with the Castle sitting on three plains of existence, She could literally draw power from the three plains of existence at once. The magic of mortals, of gods, of the dead, all at the same time. Why do you think none of the gods on T'lae-ran never challenged her? If they all rose up at once they may have stood a chance against her, but they didn't because they knew if they attacked her in her Castle, she would Destroy them all. There are also enough bad spirits and dead bodies in that place, she could literally call upon an entire army of the dead. "

"If She was so powerful how come Aerion...?" Leonardo began then stopped.

"Because she wasn't in Her castle. When Aerion attacked, he attacked her and her guardians in Lonith...their equivalent of Olympus. He attacked her there, and if you are going to ask why the other gods didn't help her, I think you can probably figure that one out on your own."

"She was powerful and needed to be Claimed." Leonardo whispered in disgust.

"Yup." Mon said with approval. "Also why no one tried that again. It must have been pretty horrific to watch her Destroy not just one but three souls of gods. And she wasn't even _in _her Castle."

"So why isn't anyone using the Castle now?" Leonardo asked.

Mon shrugged. "I don't know. All I know is that all of the gods are scared of the place. They tried to reduce its power by breaking it's triumvirate apart but they only succeeded it severing it from the mortal realm. Then they built this place to siphon the Castle's power. Bits and pieces of the Castle's structure litter Darkrealm to bind it to the Castle." She shrugged. "And that is all I know." Mon's brow furrowed. "But what was Marwolaeth Yn Annwyl doing in the Castle?" She murmured to herself.

"Maybe she got in through the window." Raphael shrugged. "All I know is that she was standing in Goddess' bedroom which was hidden by a secret passageway that I had to use a password to enter."

Leonardo looked at Raphael in shock. Raphael was not good at riddles. If he couldn't kick it, or hit it, he didn't want anything to do with it. "What?" Raphael looked at him a trace of hurt on his face. "Don't think I'm smart enough to figure something like that out?"

Leonardo shook his head. "I could never figure out Donny's password to the computer, how did you figure hers out Raph?"

Raphael's mouth quirked to the side. "What would you say to a blank wall that you know was supposed to open but you couldn't find any way to open it?"

Leonardo looked at his brother and thought about it. His eyes widened. "You can't be serious!" he exclaimed. "But that's so...Her."

"Yeah, I thought the same thing Leo."

"Well what was the password?" Mon asked bouncing up and down.

"Open sesame." The brother's said in unison.

She blinked. "That makes no sense to me. And here I was thinking you didn't really know anything about Her."

"We didn't know her as well as we would have liked Mon. And we didn't know about all of this godly stuff, but...we knew her, at least a bit." Leonardo said while looking at his brother, a smile playing about his lips.

"And Marwolaeth Yn Annwyl wouldn't have been able to get through a window, because they don't actually exist, they move around through dimensional space. The only one who didn't have to use the front door was...your goddess." Mon said slowly. "Of course Marwolaeth Yn Annwyl doesn't seem to play by any of the rules. She shouldn't be able to do things, but she does anyway." She grumbled.

"So to answer your question, like I said, your goddess was one of the good ones. She didn't play with the mortals, even listened to them occasionally. Her Castle was in the mortal realm for 4 months of the year. If you could brave the Castle, you could see her, but everything that was wanted, had a price. Of course she was also a pain in the ass for the other gods. Never obeyed any of the Rules, broke them every chance she got. But there wasn't anyone who could make her obey them. For example she shouldn't have brought Raphael back to life."

They looked at her in shock. "But.." Raphael began in shock.

"You were killed on Earth, which is not her domain even though you are her creature, she had no jurisdiction to perform a resurrection. She would have had to file a grievance claim against Hell since it was their fault that you were killed. Then an impartial third party would have to make a ruling, and most likely Hell would have had to pay restitution to the bereaved family. So your brothers may have received a get out of death free card for a particular situation where you should have been killed but weren't, or possibly a financial windfall, that sort of thing." Mon said happily.

"That is the most ridiculous thing I have ever heard." Raphael growled.

"Yeah, even the threat of Heaven didn't faze her. She took down most of Hell, Heaven's angels wouldn't have fared much better. After all she was a Battle Class 10 goddess. She fought the gods, a lot. She was good that way, fought for what was _right_, not for what the gods _wanted_. She earned that rank. Earned a lot of enemies too of course." Mon mused.

The three of them were silent as Leonardo thought about what Mon had said. It wasn't that he had really thought she was a sadistic goddess, but when he was alive he had had nightmares about her ripping apart those demons. He got it. They would have done the same thing to Her and to them, but still, it was the ability to rationalize the its either them or me and then actually act upon it.

Raphael broke the silence. "So why is Darkrealm so nice, I mean, I was expecting..." Raphael gestured around Death's house.

"Darkrealm is the playground for the gods, of course it is going to be nice. This is where the gods bring their pets to be groomed, schmoose with other gods, see and be seen, make alliances, break alliances, stab each other in the back, gamble, grant favours, eat in the best restaurants. This is where that all happens."

"So it's like L.A., Washington, and Las Vegas all rolled into one." Raphael said with a shake of his head.

"I don't understand that reference." Mon said to him.

"Never mind." Raphael grumbled shaking off the comforter.

Mon looked intensely at Raphael. "So what did you see?" She asked.

"See when?" Raphael looked at her.

She rolled her eyes. "When you looked at Marwolaeth Yn Annwyl's face! I mean you are alive, and still sane, that's like, amazing!"

"Um...I don't really know Mon." He said truthfully.

She sighed and shrugged. "Fine." She grumbled. She took the laptop from Leonardo and began scrolling through it. "So the update for today is...We aren't any closer to finding any of those missing souls. It is like they just vanished. We still don't know how they got out of processing. Most of the souls taken were destined for either Heaven or Hell, but that hasn't really helped us out. About 42 souls were still supposed to go to various other Underworlds. The fact that most of the souls were supposed to go to Heaven and Hell is the reason Lucifer and Uriel are helping, but so far they have not turned up anything either. All of the gods who bid on Leonardo have come up clean. No increase in monies, no unduly increased powers from the Consumer gods, City officials have not had any unaccounted for monies for the purchase of an extensive amount of slaves. It just doesn't make any sense. I feel like we are missing a giant piece of the puzzle." She jabbed angrily at her laptop.

"And if this weren't bad enough the Rhenna are getting worse, way worse. We've lost 10 Reapers this week alone, and even Marwolaeth Yn Annwyl can't seem to keep up. They are also getting stronger, and faster, and oddly enough, smarter.

"You don't think that someone is feeding the Rhenna souls do you?" Leonardo asked suddenly.

"I don't see why." Mon said.

"You said that the Rhenna take the Reapers, what do they do with them?" Leonardo asked. "And how do you know the Rhenna aren't Consuming the Reapers too?"

"Because we have witnesses who say they saw the Rhenna dragging injured Reapers away and disappearing into wherever they go. Any souls they just eat."

"So the Rhenna eat souls and become stronger and faster, and they drag Reapers somewhere, for what?"

Mon shrugged. "It's not like a Reaper has ever come back to tell us."

"But where do the Rhenna go? Only three plains of existence, can't gods see everything, know everything?" Raphael asked.

Mon shook her head. "There are only three realms that we deal with, but there is also a fourth realm."

"Fourth realm?" Leonardo asked.

"Betwixt and Between. But it is a realm the three plains of existence have almost no contact with. Generally the barrier between Betwixt and Between and our plains are too hard to get through. And that we know of, there have been no breaches. Only T'lae-ran tends to have problems with Betwixt and Between.

"So what is in Betwixt and Between?" Leonardo asked.

"The Fae." Mon whispered.

"The whosit now?" Raphael asked.

"Betwixt and Between is the Realm of the Faeries."

"Fairies, like little women with wings." Raphael said with a snort.

"Some of them are, yes, but do not joke about the Fae. They are scary. Some are beautiful, most are monstrous, and if you think the gods are sadistic, they've got nothing on the Fae. The Realm of the Fae is...time doesn't work the same there. Your goddess, when she was mortal fell into a faerie circle. She was there for an hour, but emerged three days later. She was lucky she even emerged at all. The Fae do not like to let their toys go. You could fall into Betwixt and Between, be there for what felt like a day, and if they let you go, you could pop out 1000 years later, and time would catch up to you all at once. Not a pleasant way to die." She shook her head, a grim look on her face. "But I suppose it could make sense that that is where the Rhenna are coming and going to. The Ways have to travel through Betwixt and Between, but the Rhenna are not Fae, I know that for sure. But that would mean they are incredibly powerful to be able to push through the wards that surround The Ways." Mon pulled on her pigtails in frustration.

"As for the gods knowing and seeing everything, not so much. Besides gods have their own wards and barriers that block other gods from prying into their business."

"So basically we have nothin?" Raphael said in frustration.

"We are trying Raphael. But...As much as it pains me to say it...I think there may be some traitors within the ranks of the Reapers. They are the only ones besides Marwolaeth Yn Annwyl that could have taken the souls. We are investigating the Reapers right now, and we are hoping one of them may know what has happened."

"So you really don't think it is Marwolaeth Yn Annwyl?" Leonardo asked her.

She shook her head. "It just doesn't fit."

Leonardo stood up and began to pace in frustration.

* * *

"How are you doing Donny?" Michelangelo asked his brother quietly.

Donatello made a noise of acknowledgment.

Michelangelo closed his eyes as he tried to sleep. He was cramped and uncomfortable. He was leaning against the dirt wall, tons of earth seeming to be pushing down on him from above. He shifted as he tried to get comfortable in the chains, the darkness, and with hundreds of other bodies crushed in around him.

"Do you think we'll get out of this Donny?" Michelangelo asked in a soft voice, and was shocked to hear just the hint of hopelessness..

Donatello was quiet. He was quiet so long Michelangelo thought he had fallen asleep. "I don't know Mikey." He answered softly. "I honestly don't know. I don't even know what _this_ is."


	16. Chapter 16

Yay another update, thank you all for reading I hope you enjoy!

* * *

Chapter 16

"Sorry, you guys will have to share the bedroom. I'll keep running through everything we know and I will catch you guys in the morning. Oh and Raphael..." Mon began as Raphael cut her off.

"Mon could you please just call me Raph." Raphael said suddenly.

She blinked at being cut off, but smiled. "Sure Raph, please do something about your arm, you are bleeding all over the house and I don't want to clean it up." She handed him a roll of bandages, turned, and walked away.

Both brothers watched her walk away. "You get used to her." Leonardo said with a shrug.

Raphael looked at the comforter in his hands and the room his brother had apparently been inhabiting for 3 months. He walked into the room after Leonardo.

"You want bed or floor?" Leonardo asked him.

"I'll take floor Leo, I don't think I could sleep in a soft bed anymore." He said throwing the comforter on the floor and grabbing a pillow from the bed.

"Raph..." Leonardo said as he touched his shoulder. Raphael flinched back from the touch. He had to remind himself that the hand that was touching him was doing so to be comforting. To give and take comfort, not hurt or injure him.

Leonardo pulled back, looking at him uncertainly. "Are you okay Raph?" Leonardo asked softly.

Raphael rubbed his eyes and shook his head to clear it. "Yeah I suppose so." He closed his eyes as memory rolled over him. He was a fool. He had been so sure. He thought everything had fit. He had added two plus two and gotten five.

"So Lucifer sold you to The Destroyer, how did that happen?" He asked changing the subject as he took off his trench coat and began wrapping up his bleeding arm. He took off his fedora and threw it on top of his trench coat. He had left Her scabbard sitting in the living room with Mon. He figured it would be safe enough there.

" Lucifer bought me, dragged me to Hell." Leonardo said in a dark voice. "Thought I was going to spend the rest of eternity as Lucifer's punching bag."

Raphael studied his brother's face. Now that his brother was no longer a blue insubstantial soul he could see the scars that riddled his brother's face, neck and arm. The green scar tissue was darker than his normal skin tone. He wore his blue mask over his eyes, but now he could see the scaring that ran over his eye ridge, and down his cheek to blend in with the larger scar that looked as if it had been made by his flesh burning and melting. His eye was closed as if he couldn't open it, the scar running right through the lid. More scars trailed down his neck and continued down his arm. His left arm was a mass of small scars and what looked like more burn scars. There was a particularly bad one that went from his shoulder almost down to his elbow. Raphael knew Leonardo would also still carry the scars that mirrored his own on his left forearm, the price of Her bow. His brother was looking at him with his good eye and he realized he had been staring at the ruined side of his brother's face.

"So how did you end up here, and why are you wearing The Destroyer's colours?" He asked noticing the brand on his brother's shoulder, and silver collar around his neck.

His brother explained to him Mon's plan and Lucifer selling him to The Destroyer.

Raphael closed his eyes in relief. He knew Lucifer wasn't going to torture Leonardo, but he had worried that Lucifer would find some other way to torture him. Break his spirit, break his mind, or any number of other things that didn't involve physical torture.

He felt his brother touch his shoulder again and he flinched at the touch. "Raph..." Leonardo paused as if he was unsure of something.

"I'm fine Leo." He said as he moved to settle down on the floor for the night.

"Do you want to talk about..." Leonardo began.

"No." Raphael said cutting him off.

"Raphael." Leonardo's voice cracked.

Raphael looked at Leonardo's anguished face and stopped. "Leo, what did he do to you?" He asked in a whisper. He closed his eyes. "Gods Leo I failed you. I should have tried harder to make you understand, to stop you from becoming a slave. I am so sorry."

He opened his eyes and looked into his brother's shocked face. "Raph, you warned me, and I didn't listen." Leonardo said closing his eye and looking away in shame. "It is the thought of what you have suffered these seven years." He said in a barely audible whisper.

"Leo, what did Lucifer do to you?" He asked desperately.

Leonardo looked at him shaking his head. "Branded me with a stolen branding iron, nothing more. I was in Hell for maybe ten minutes. He branded me then dragged me here. But Lucifer told me he had dragged you to Hell. That he already had one of us he could drag to Hell." Leonardo paused as if he found it hard to finish what he had to say. "Mon told me about Caligula and his...tastes, and I watched your fights in The Pit, and I get ill just thinking about what you went through these past seven years."

Raphael reached out tentatively and touched his brother's shoulder. "Sit down Leo." He said gently pushing his brother into the chair that sat by the bed. He crouched down and looked up into his brother's face, which was a mask of absolute misery.

"It could have been worse Leo." He started and cut his brother off when he opened his mouth to speak.

"I was never tortured. Ever. Lucifer dragging me to Hell, saved my ass, literally. Lucifer dragged me to Hell and told Caligula that if anyone was going to torture me it was going to be him. Caligula steered clear of me after that. Lucifer wanted to torture me, but he couldn't because of some warped sort of...honour, if you could even call it that, regarding...Her. My patroness never went in for torture, so I never had to worry. All I had to endure were the fights, and the fights weren't so bad. At least not until I could feel again, then, well, losing could be...painful."

"I saw a gladiator rip your shell off and chop you up Raph." Leonardo growled at him. "You flinch every time someone touches you, don't tell me you are fine!"  
"Well it's not like I was ever a touchy feely guy to begin with Leo!" He growled back his temper rising.

"Fine." Leonardo growled and closed his eye. He opened it and tried to stand but Raphael pulled him back down. He was angry at his brother's prying, but at the same time, it felt familiar, it felt like home. And the thought of home brought a flood of questions rushing through his mind.

Raphael looked into his brother's ruined face. "What happened Leo?"

He saw his brother stiffen turning his head away hiding the scarred side of his face. "What happened after I died?" His brother was silent and Raphael felt the words tumbling from his mouth in a torrent of half formed, chaotic thoughts. "I'm sorry Leo, gods I am so sorry. I didn't mean to leave. I mean, I did, but I wasn't thinking. I was just so angry and I felt like I had to do something_, anything_. I couldn't bear to be in the lair anymore. Not with any of you, not with Her scent everywhere, the memories of Her everywhere. I had to run away because if I had stayed I thought I would have broken our family. I would have said hurtful things, maybe even done hurtful things. I thought you guys would be better off without me."

He paused and continued in a soft voice. "And I was an angry idiot because before She died, when She told us it was all of us or none of us, I knew I was going to turn Her down. I knew I wouldn't be able to accept what She offered. I couldn't share. And I was so angry at Her because She didn't choose. It felt like a slap in the face. So I was going to lose Her anyway, but the fact that She died, it made it worse, and the rage Leo. I couldn't control it. I was so angry at all of you because she hadn't chosen just me, because of all of you. And the fact that Donny and Mikey were okay with what she had offered..." Raphael ran his hand down his face. "I don't know Leo, then I went and got myself killed, right when I found out that you guys weren't better off without me." He finished in quiet anguish.

Leonardo turned his face to him and touched his shoulder in comfort. He was almost able to not flinch...almost. It was then he realized that having Leonardo there with him, it felt right. Leonardo had always been there, through everything, and he always was able to make things right. It was one of the things he had hated most about his older brother, but he realized now, that he could never have been the leader, or the one who shouldered all of the responsibility. That role was Leonardo's and his alone.

"Raph...I don't even know where to start. I know why you left, I even understood it. None of us wanted to be there. None of us wanted to be around each other. That was the problem. That is why we broke. Master Splinter's death just made things worse. He had been the only thing holding us together, and then we shattered.

"When you died Raph," Leonardo stopped as if he found it hard to continue. "It tore us all up. But somehow we managed to pull through because we realized that we had to be there for each other. Donny got better, it was a long process, but he stopped cutting himself, Mikey...Mikey stopped being angry. He wasn't the same, but at least he laughed again. You leaving didn't break us, Her dying didn't break us. We broke ourselves. But we got better, we healed to a certain extent, and then the world changed."

"We were finally able to walk out in the open Raph, and it was good. It wasn't perfect, it wasn't peaceful, but humans finally realized that they weren't alone. Then Earth went to war." Leonardo stopped and closed his eye as if what he was about to say was painful.

"I was with my Unit when a high impact grenade hit a transport vehicle. I wasn't standing near enough to be killed by the shockwave, but the shrapnel hit me hard. The shrapnel cut through me pretty bad, and what didn't cut me, burned into me as I lay unconscious under a smoking ruin of twisted metal. Mikey pulled me out. He thought I was dead, I almost was, but the medics managed to patch me up pretty good, considering." He said with a shrug.

Raphael looked at him. "Leo, were any of you..." _You had your chance to live the life that she gave to you. You should have been happy, got married, had kids, you know all that mortal stuff._ Mon's words rushed through his head. "Were you guys happy, I mean, did any of you, I don't know, settle down, maybe not marry, but..." Raphael motioned with his hands because he wasn't really sure how to ask.

Leonardo looked at him in shock. "Look at me Raph, what do you think?" Leonardo gestured to his scars. Leonardo huffed out a breath. "That's not fair, I got these scars, I suppose, six months before I died." He paused. "No Raph we never 'settled down.' Donny locked himself in an Utrom lab, I didn't bother trying, not after that disaster with Melanie, and Mikey," Leonardo smiled. "You should have seen him Raph. He was charming and confident and had too many girlfriends to keep track of." Leonardo lost his smile. "But he never chose one, never stayed with one more than a few months here, a few months there. We lived for twelve years without Her, and we never moved on."

He paused as if thinking about something."I had a conversation with Mikey and Donny one night. You were off beating something up, so it was when She was still alive, fighting in Hell. We never talked with each other about the fact that she wouldn't choose one of us. I knew myself Raph. I didn't want to let Her go, but the thought of having to share Her, I couldn't do it. I was like you, I wanted Her to want me and only me. If She had come back I would have made Her choose anyway, and I know I would have lost Her. I was disgusted with Mikey and Donny, at their ability to accept and be okay with sharing Her. And do you know what Mikey said to me?"

Raphael shook his head.

"He said, 'But Leo, we already share her. We share her in every meaningful way already, what would be different?"

"Lots." Raphael said to him.

"Exactly. So I told him 'Being friends is one thing, but once things turn physical, it's different. I get jealous. I don't want her looking at all of you the same way as she looks at me. When she kisses me I want her to kiss only me.'

Then Mikey looked at me and laughed. 'What, you think Donny and I don't get jealous? We do Leo, hell Donny and I have been holding back because we knew you two hot-heads would be even worse, if that were even possible.'

"Then Donny chimed in. 'We don't like the idea of you guys touching her any more than you do, but...she loves me Leo. She loves me with all of her heart. That is what is important. The physical stuff, sure it's nice, but the important stuff, like her getting me, understanding me, enjoying being with me. That is what really matters. We laugh together and even when it is quiet, we are comfortable together because she isn't trying to...take anything. She isn't trying to make any of us be something we are not, but that is exactly what we are trying to do to her. I will never be able to understand her, I know this, but maybe I would like to think that I at least _get_ her, a little. But all we did was take. We want her, but we want her on our terms. We want her to change for us. Mould her into what we want her to be, instead of accepting who she is. She never led us on, she never tried to play us against each other. We did that all on our own. And the one night when she was with all of you, Leo, you were the first. The rest of us all chose to be with her, even knowing that she had been with the other brothers, even Raph.' Leonardo paused and looked at him.

Raphael shook his head, and he swore he could feel himself blushing slightly. "I still don't get it." He grumbled.

Leonardo chuckled. "At the time, I didn't get it either, but then She was killed and do you know, it was then that I finally figured it out. Because when I realized She had been taken away, I would have given anything to have Her back. I would have given Her up, shared Her, I didn't care, because having Her gone, hurt worse than anything I could have ever imagined...until you were killed." Leonardo said the last in a whisper. "That album Raph, she loved all of us, and all of us made her happy. Of what we knew of Her life, She had so little happiness. If it took all of us to bring that smile to her face, then I was willing to share. Of course by then it was too late."

Raphael looked at his brother in shock, then grew serious."You know Leo I never really thought about what would have happened if I found Her here. But I suppose thinking about that sort of thing now is kinda moot."

Leonardo looked down at him and nodded. Leonardo closed his eye. "Her Mark is gone Raph. The power of that Mark saved me, but now, it's gone." He whispered.

Raphael looked at his brother. "Still worth it Leo."

They were both silent for a moment. Leonardo's eye opened and he looked at him. "I only managed to live for 7 years after you were killed. That is kind of sad."

Raphael grimaced. "I only lasted five years after She was killed, at least you held on for twelve. With the way our lives were, that was probably way past our life expectancy." Raphael looked more closely at his brother and smiled. "Thirty two Leo, you got old." He laughed.

Leonardo glared at him with his good eye. "Well, we can't all stay 25 forever." Then Leonardo's eye widened as a thought struck him. "I never had to bury another brother." He said in shock.

"Yeah, so..." Raphael began but paused. "When were Mikey and Donny killed?"

"Mikey was with me, so he was probably killed in the same explosion, which means..." He looked at Raphael in agony.

"Donny." Raphael said softly. Oh gods, that would have left Donatello to bury all of his brothers. Donatello was the one who had been the least emotionally stable of them all.

"We'll find them Raph." Leonardo said as he stood.

Raphael nodded as he stood. "I know." He picked up his trench coat, then paused. He rifled through his pockets and pulled out his brother's memographs. "Here Leo, these are yours."

Leonardo looked at the memographs in shock. He took them silently and nodded to him. "Thanks Raph." He said quietly.

Raphael put his trench coat and hat on the chair, then got comfortable on the floor. Leonardo tuned out the light and climbed into bed.

Raphael was silent in the darkness as he listened to his brother get comfortable. "Thanks Leo." He said finally.

"For what?" Leonardo's voice asked from the darkness

"For not listening to me." He said to him. "I'm glad you're here."

Raphael could almost hear the smile in Leonardo's voice. "Since when have I ever listened to you Raph?"

Raphael smiled. "About as often as I listened to you."

He heard Leonardo chuckle in the darkness and for the first time in seven years Raphael slept through the night.

* * *

Michelangelo heard the yelling and shouting first. He opened his eyes to the darkness that surrounded him. Torches were being lit. Dirt was being taken past him at amazing speed by figures that seemed more beast than human, and sometimes this observation was literal. He nudged Donatello awake. Donatello wasn't doing so well. His brother had been growing listless, pulling further and further into himself, as if trying to escape the horror their lives had become.

They were both filthy, covered in the grime and dirt they had been digging through for who knew how long. After the first month he had stopped counting.

He wasn't sure where they were or what was going on. The last thing he remembered was going to the front with his unit and then he woke up here. He was wondering if the Patheons were using them to tunnel into some sort of facility. Donatello didn't remember anything either except one moment working in his lab, the next waking up here. The only good thing about the whole experience was knowing that Donatello was okay, and they hoped that Leonardo was alright.

They had been bound with shackles and chains, branded, barely given enough food or water to survive and forced to move tons of dirt in the darkness, with barely enough light to see.

"Something is happening Donny." He whispered to his brother.


	17. Chapter 17

Another chapter up! Now we are getting somehwere! Hope you enjoy!

* * *

Chapter 17

"Well it is about time you two woke up." Mon said to them as they entered the living room.

"Is she always this happy in the morning?" Raphael grumbled.

"Well, when you don't ever sleep, I don't think there is a difference between morning and night." Leonardo answered with a yawn.

"So I have been thinking." Mon began.

Raphael groaned. "Jeez Mon, give a guy time to wake up and get my brain working." Raphael said to her as she looked at him.

"Oh, that's okay, I don't need your brain Raph, Leo is the smarter one, and I want to run a thought by him. You can go make some breakfast." Mon said cheerfully and with perfect seriousness.

Leonardo tried to turn a laugh into a cough. "Thanks for the support bro." Raphael said as he stomped to the kitchen. Okay he knew he wasn't as smart as Donatello, or probably even Leonardo but still...ouch.

Raphael rummaged through the kitchen, and tried to figure out what the hell Leonardo had been eating. There was bread, but he couldn't find a toaster. There were eggs and bacon but he was looking at the stove as if it was some foreign fire breathing beast. "A thousand years in the future and I have to try to cook with a stove that was old when I was alive." He grumbled to himself. He decided against having anything to do with the stove. He went through the cupboards and managed to find some sort of granola bars, and juice boxes.

He walked back into the living room.

"They have to be here." Mon said happily. "I was thinking about it and we found you in The Ways, which means that you were being transported somewhere. Not to Heaven, not to Hell, and no other Underworlds have received any unaccounted for souls, which means the only other destination they could have been trying to get to would have been Darkrealm."

"That is assuming someone isn't just feeding souls to the Rhenna." Leonardo grumbled.

Raphael tossed the juice box and granola bar at Leonardo's blind side without even thinking. Leonardo managed to catch the juice box and granola bar, one in each hand. "Wow Leo." Raphael said impressed.

"Yeah, thank my Mistress for that." Leonardo said with a grim sort of smile.

Raphael froze. He hadn't thought to ask what the last three months of Leonardo's life had been like now that he was a slave. "Leo..." He began.

Leonardo faced him so he could look at him. "I'm fine Raph, she's been fine. She doesn't pay much attention to me in general, and when she does she just seems to want some company." He said with a shrug.

"Company Leo?" Raphael asked softly.

Leonardo narrowed his eye. "We all know if she touched me I'd be dead Raph, and besides it isn't like I am anything anyone would want to take to their bed." He said turning his face away, hiding the ruined side. "She has left me to do whatever I want, so I have been able to at least try to figure out what happened to Mikey and Donny. The only thing I can't do is leave. I'm stuck here in Death's house. If I try to leave I..." Leonardo looked to Mon for help.

"Your body shuts down and you pass out." Mon said to him.

"Yeah, that. Anyway one night I was angry, I thought maybe she had taken Mikey and Donny, and I was upset because I was thinking about the conditions in The Pit. She woke me up in the middle of the night and fought with me. I couldn't fight as well as I used to Raph. My depth perception was off and even though I could hear, I was still slow." Leonardo smiled. "I finally saw her weapons and I thought I would be able to defeat her because of those stupid bells, but it was harder than I thought. Anyway after I collapsed from exhaustion I woke up and found that she had dragged me into Death's 13th hour, and we could have been fighting in there for days. But it was like she knew I couldn't see out of my left eye and she was somehow trying to help." Leonardo rubbed at the scar on his cheek. "I don't know. But I can see why you thought it was Her Raph. Fighting Mistress felt...familiar, but not. It is hard to explain." Leonardo looked at Mon but froze. He looked over his shoulder to the spot in front of the fireplace.

"What...?" Raphael asked.

Leonardo slowly stood as The Destroyer appeared in the middle of the room in a swirl of capes and the sound of angry bells.

The Destroyer looked around the room.

Leonardo had dropped onto one knee, head bowed in front of her. He looked at Leonardo in shock and felt fury burn through him at the thought that his brother was a subservient slave. He knew it, accepted it, but seeing it was a completely different story. The room was silent as they watched the figure of The Destroyer look directly at Leonardo.

Leonardo stood and looked at her, clutched his head, and began screaming as he fell to his knees in absolute and total agony.

Raphael looked at The Destroyer in shock. "Stop!" He screamed at her. He stood in front of her line of sight, but Leonardo did not stop screaming. "It was me, not him, I pulled off your headdress. Stop!" Raphael yelled, fists clenched Raphael readied himself to lunge at her.

Leonardo stopped screaming. Raphael slowly turned around and looked at his now silent brother. Blood was running down his face from his ears and nostrils. His eye stared blankly ahead unseeing. He managed to catch his brother before he slumped boneless to the floor.

"What did you do to him!" Raphael yelled at her, his voice rising in panic.

Mon knelt on Leonardo's other side, warily watching The Destroyer. The Destroyer's head tipped to the side as if in thought, or as if she were watching something interesting. No expression played upon what he could see of her face.

"Leo, Leo can you hear me." Raphael begged, turning his full attention to his brother. Leonardo stared blankly straight ahead.

"No, no Leo, no." He said softly, willing his brother to be okay.

Leonardo closed his eye. "She's trying to say something Raph." Leonardo whispered. He opened his eye and looked at him. "No, not say something, more like she is trying to show me something, an image. She's not trying to hurt me Raph, but...gods that hurt."

Raphael looked at The Destroyer who looked towards the ceiling, and vanished in a flurry of capes and bells.

"What was she showing you Leo?" Raphael asked, still supporting his fallen brother. Leonardo was pale, his eye still glassy, and blood was still slowly trickling from his ears and nostrils.

"I don't know." Leonardo closed his eye and a look of concentration mixed with pain flashed across his features. "But it is important Raph, very important.." He said softly.

Mon and Raphael looked at each other in shock and confusion.

* * *

Donatello watched as some sort of battering-ram was lugged past him and Michelangelo.

"Hey Donny, you have to eat." Michelangelo said worriedly.

"I'm not hungry Mikey." He said softly. He wasn't really lying, he couldn't stomach the thought of eating anything. He looked at his brother and tried to keep the agony he felt from showing on his face. Instead he closed his eyes.

He had told his brother the truth when he said he was in his lab, but had lied when he told him he didn't remember anything afterwards. He knew Michelangelo was dead, he also knew Leonardo was dead. He had buried them, at least what had been left of them, and there hadn't been much, in the old lair, beside Raphael.

After his last two brothers had been killed Donatello had asked, and been granted, a research position closer to the front. He was closer to the fighting, closer to understanding what his brothers had gone through before they had been killed.

He had sat alone on his cot during the night and watched the dim glow of the moon play across the edge of the razor. In the seven years after Raphael had been killed he had stopped cutting himself, but he had always kept a razor blade close, hidden, but always there. His brother's loss had made him feel beyond empty. The hollowness had opened a chasm within him that he knew could never be filled, not with anything. His slashes were angrier, his cuts were deeper, and yet the pain did not sate him, did not fill the empty void. But he didn't have to wait too long for the pain to finally stop. It was almost a year later, working in the lab when they were hit by a Patheon missile. The lab had burned and fallen around him. He wasn't sure if he had died of smoke inhalation, or of internal bleeding as a fiery metal support beam had fallen on him, crushing him beneath its weight. But he remembered the agony of dying, and the grim view of his body laying limp and lifeless. A broken body of a turtle who had been nothing but an empty broken shell in the end anyway.

He had woken up with someone telling him to repeat something, the words had tumbled from his mouth and the searing pain and smell of burning flesh, his burning flesh.

He had found Michelangelo and soon realized that he didn't have any idea that he was dead, that they both were. He didn't have the heart to tell him that he had been killed. And so Michelangelo was under the impression that they had been captured by Patheon's and being used for some reason to dig into a top government facility. Instead Donatello knew at least the partial truth. That they were in some sort of level of Hell. They had to be, and this was where they were going to spend eternity. It felt like he was alive, he hurt like he was alive. He felt hunger, thirst and needed to breathe, but did not need to use the bathroom. He had tried to hint to Michelangelo about this fact, but he was under the impression that there was something in the water or food that was stopping that particular bodily function.

And so he retreated further and further into himself because he couldn't deal with the fact that he was dead and being used as slave labour to dig a tunnel to who knew where for who knew what.

There was a shout of triumph as Donatello heard the sound of stone crumbling and falling.

* * *

Raphael helped him to the couch. He closed his eye in pain. His head felt like it had been battered around like a tether ball. He knew she had tried to be gentle. He felt her presence creeping into his brain instead of assaulting it. She had wanted him to understand, needed him to understand. He was trying, he was trying so hard to figure out what the image was, his brain burning every time he tried to see the image in his head again.

There was something, a surface of some sort. But he wasn't seeing the image in colour, nor was he seeing it in any way that would be classified as 'seeing.' It was more sensing, and even then that wasn't the right description. He focused on the image that was etched into his brain. The sense of heat, and light. The sense of something. Figures and shapes that didn't make any sense because there wasn't really an actual shape, just a sense that something was there. A faint outline here an outline there, a curve of arching blackness. The sense of something hard and solid.

Leonardo's eye snapped open. He realized his Mistress was trying to show him something important, but was unable to because she 'saw' the world differently.

"Mon, bring me a pencil or pen, something to write with, and a piece of paper or something to write on. I have to figure out what she tried to show me."

"What is it Leo?" Raphael asked, worry still written across his face.

"I don't know. She is showing me what she has seen, but it doesn't make sense to me Raph, cause she isn't 'seeing.' More like sensing without sensing...that doesn't even make sense to me. More like there are a filling of spaces. If I can fill in the spaces...almost like sonar. There is empty space and then something is filling the empty space in a shape that...she doesn't seem to understand, because she only has the outline." Mon handed him a pencil and a piece of paper. He closed his eyes and concentrated on the image that was etched into his mind. Pain blazed through his head but he stomped it down and tried to ignore it. Drawing with his eye closed didn't seem like a good idea, but it was the only way he could see the image. When he opened his eye it was gone.

"Leo..." Raphael put his hand on his. "Leo stop."

He opened his eye and looked at his brother in question. He only had a few lines drawn, but the paper was covered in drops of blood.

"Whatever you are seein' is making you bleed Leo. You need to stop." Raphael insisted.

Leonardo looked at the paper then looked at his brother. "Whatever she is trying to show me is important Raph. She never notices anything, and every time she has, it has been because of something to do with one of us. What if she is trying to tell us where Mikey and Donny are, where all of the other souls are. I have to try to do this Raph."

Concern crossed Raphael's face but he nodded and let his hand go.

Leonardo closed his eye again and drew what was in his head. Finally when he was done he opened his eye and looked at what he had drawn. It looked like a bunch of lines now smudged with blood. His head was pounding and he was barely able to focus on what he had drawn. He forced his hand to move as he shaded in the space, since that is how he actually saw the world.

When he was done he was still trying to make sense of it. It looked like a bunch of dark blobs. He looked at the paper in frustration. He knew what he was seeing in his head, but he couldn't get it down on paper.

Raphael took the pencil and paper from him. "Okay Leo I get what you are trying to do, but you are making a mess of this. Look at all this blood."

"I know what I see Raph, but...she can differentiate between objects, it looks all like blobs to me, but I can't get that differentiation down on the paper." He said in frustration.

Raphael sighed, took his drawing and studied it. "You're no artist Leo, that's for sure. You are dealing with negative space Leo, you have to show that you are dealing with negative space. You are trying to turn a negative into a positive so you can understand it and you can't do that until you figure out the negative first."

Leonardo looked at his brother in shock. Raphael rubbed his arm as if he was embarrassed about something. There was even a faint blush on his cheeks. "I talked with Goddess a lot Leo. I was stuck on that stupid couch for so damn long and we talked about everything and anything. I listened to her talk about things she should have been talkin' to Donny about, like history like type stuff, and it should have been boring Leo, but she made it interesting. I would watch her face just light up with excitement as she talked about things that I could have cared less about, but damn I could have watched her talk forever. Anyway she liked art. A lot. She didn't like art theory very much, but she could draw Leo. Anyway she taught me a little. I have no talent and can't draw worth crap, but for some reason that whole negative space thing stuck in my head because she hated it. She said it was like forcing your brain to think backwards, or the wrong way. You have to think of the objects as not being there, and think of the space around the object as being more important. If you do this the object will take shape. So I will take this mangled mess and see if I can't make it make sense. Start in the background and work your way to the foreground. What does the space around the farthest object look like." Raphael asked, erasing his attempt at shading.

Leonardo closed his eye and felt the burning begin. "The furthest shape is...it feels like there is a roof and a floor and two walls." Now that he wasn't trying to draw it and think about it too hard he was able to make sense of the blank space. 'It's not like a box though, more circular, but not even. There is something different about a piece of the wall, something warm and jutting out."

"Like a light?" Mon asked.

"Like a torch?" Raphael asked

He looked at the shape in the darkness. "Yeah, more like a torch, two of them. side by side. On the wall there are denser spaces, lumpy but soft, and breakable?" Leonardo opened his eye. "I can't Raph. I mean I get it, but it isn't helping." And he couldn't look at the picture in his head anymore because if he did he was going to pass out.

"Rest for a second Leo, I think I actually get what you were trying to draw. Don't think about it anymore okay."

Raphael's voice sounded a little fuzzy. He closed his eye because he felt very tired.

* * *

He felt himself being shook awake. "Leo." It was Mon's voice. "Raph's figured it out. Well at least he thinks he's figured it out."

Leonardo sat up and felt his brain roll around in his head. He clutch his head in pain.

"Hey Leo you okay?" Raphael asked.

"Yeah, show me what you've got."

"Okay well I was thinking you said it was like an uneven space that was circular with torches on the walls, and I thought about a tunnel. But with the uneven part maybe a dirt tunnel?" He asked pointing to a dirt tunnel he had drawn with two torches. Okay and then you said there was something along the wall that was lumpy and...soft and breakable."

"She left a picture in my head, but I have sort of an impression of her thoughts, I guess, to go with the picture. So the floor, roof and walls are all...soft? I suppose dirt would make sense."

"Well that may go some way to explaining where you got lumpy, soft and breakable from..." He showed Leonardo the sketch. It looked like a dirt tunnel with a mass of shadows sitting slumped down the wall. Raphael had turned the lumps into what looked like the shapes of people. There was no distinct person, just the vague outline of a shape here and there, but definitely people shaped. But there were two shapes that stood out more than the others. There was more of a curve around the shoulders, around the face, and part of a foot that looked to only have two toes.

"She knows where they are!" Leo exclaimed.

"Yeah, problem is we don't know where she is, and I think if she was going to show us, she would have just taken us there. She is obviously off doing something, so we are on our own. Problem is, Mon says there aren't any tunnels in Darkrealm. No need for sewage tunnels, and no need for basements or anything." Raphael said in frustration.

Leonardo was still staring at the picture. "No wonder she was so slow." Leonardo mumbled. "I mean she was still faster than me, but she was slow compared to Goddess and no wonder, she has more of a vague impression of things rather than a clear picture. It's like she doesn't even understand what people are. I'm surprised she fought me as well as she did."

"Yeah, I've fought her too and there was definitely some delays going on. So anyway we are basically stuck, we know they are here, but we have no idea where to start looking." Raphael growled in frustration.

Something was bothering him about the picture. "Hey Raph, there is a wall here." He said pointing to the end of the tunnel. 'But I got the impression that it was harder than the dirt walls...like I don't know, stone or brick or something."

"So maybe like they are in a tunnel that ends. Mon you're sure there are no buildings that have basements." Raphael said in frustration.

She shook her head. "There isn't any need."

Raphael's eyes widened. "Except the Castle. I know there was a basement in the Castle!" He said excitedly.

"So someone is digging a tunnel to get to the basement of the Castle. But why?" Leonardo asked.

"Who cares, we know where they are, so we can...What?" Raphael said to Mon who was shaking her head.

She grabbed her laptop and pulled a cloth from somewhere giving it to Leonardo to wipe the blood off. "I don't know what is in the basement, and I didn't even realize it still existed, but if it does, then whoever is going in there is in trouble. Like really scary big trouble. According to this, the Castle was used in the extensive torturing of all manner of creatures."

"Yeah so?" Raphael asked impatiently.

"So where do you think they were tortured? According to rumour, the basement of the Castle was a literal maze of tunnels and catacombs, a torture chamber, oubliettes, prison cells, and a massive cemetery. " Mon said to him grimly.

"So?" Raphael said again, looking a little paler than normal.

"Where do you think your goddess would raise her army of the dead from?" Mon asked him.

"But She's not...oh so the Castle..."

"Can raise the army if it feels threatened, yeah." Mon said grimly.

"Don't care, we've got to..." Raphael stopped and looked at his brother. "Leo?"

Leonardo looked at him grimly "You'll have to take this one Raph. You know more about how things work here than I do, besides I'm stuck here."

Raphael looked at Mon. "No Leo, you're leadin' period. Besides I think The Destroyer will let you come out and play."

Leonardo sighed. "I'll try Raph, but if I pass out at the door you are on your own." Raphael nodded. "Alright if someone has been digging a tunnel we have no idea where they would have started from. But we know where they are going, so we should meet them in the basement of Darkcastle."

Mon dropped her laptop on the floor. Raphael looked at her in confusion. "We aren't asking you to come Mon." Raphael said gently.

She turned large black eyes on them and shook her head. "I have to come, you guys can't get out of here if I don't come, and besides...you guys are so totally clueless, you need all the help you can get."

Raphael leaned over and grabbed Her scabbard. He strapped it to his back, adjusted his hat, and went for weapons he did not have. "Damn it!" He growled.

Leonardo stood up and strode down the hall, Raphael and Mon following close behind him. He opened the door to the training room. He didn't think his Mistress would mind, and if she did, he could suffer for it later. He marched over to the racks of weapons and pulled down a pair of sai. "Looking for something like this?" He asked tossing his brother the sais.

Raphael caught them. The grips were wrapped with black, ribbons trailing from the bottom of the grip. "She just had to make them look all girly didn't she." Raphael grumbled but seemed pleased to have familiar weapons back in his hands. He put them through his belt.

"Don't worry, mine aren't much better." Leonardo said with a smile as he pulled the Katannas from their rack. He strapped them to his back and scanned the other racks. He went to grab a purple wrapped bo and black wrapped nun-chucks from the racks. But Raphael stopped him.

"They won't be solid enough to use them Leo. They would have to have a body." He said.

Leonardo nodded grimly. "Let's go." Leonardo said with determination. He was going to make it out of this house. He strode back down the hall to the elevator. Mon hit the button and the doors slid open. Mon entered first. Leonardo took a determined breath and walked into the elevator. He could see his collar was giving off a faint blue glow from the symbols that were etched into the metal, but he hadn't passed out.

Raphael patted him on the shoulder as he stepped in. He watched the elevator doors close.

* * *

A/N I don't know if people like what I did to poor Donatello. I made him very dark and broken, hopefully he will forgive me...


	18. Chapter 18

Chapter 18

A man strode past Michelangelo. He couldn't really tell anything much about him other than he had dark brown skin, golden eyes and golden hair. He practically glowed when he walked past in a nice expensive charcoal grey suit. At least Michelangelo thought it was grey, but it could have been black or even brown.

He walked up to Renmir, who was basically the one who had seemed to be in charge of whatever little operation was going on down here. Renmir wasn't human, but he didn't look Patheon either. He was humanoid with white leathery skin stretched too tightly over jutting bones. His face was like that of a mummy, all withered and dried out, with white goat-like horns that jutted from his forehead. White leathery wings curved out from his skeletal hunched back while curving claws grasped a long leather whip, his birdlike feet shuffling impatiently in the dirt.

He listened to what the man said, then smiled, showing a mouth full of sharp shark-like teeth. "Alright you lot, time to do what you were brought here to do. Everyone through the hole." He said, voice as dry as a desert wind. His whipped cracked as they line of people struggled to their feet.

Michelangelo reached down and pulled Donatello to his feet. Michelangelo glanced at his brother worriedly. "Come on Donny, stay with me." He said as he pulled his older brother along towards the hole that had been made in a stone wall. Michelangelo looked down the line of people. There must have been hundreds of them down here.

As they neared the hole in the wall Renmir held out his whip stopping them. "Not you two. Master Heterion has special plans for you two." Renmir pushed them to the side and he watched as hundreds of people staggered past them. He had never really paid any attention to the other prisoners, he had been too concerned about his brother. But as he watched them pass he noticed that some were wearing strange clothes, some were wearing old fashioned clothes, some were not even human. His brow furrowed as he tried to make sense of the prisoners passing by him.

"Hey Donny, why does that Heterion guy's name sound familiar?" He whispered to his brother who seemed to be deep in thought. He looked slightly confused. Donatello opened his mouth to say something, but stopped as the dark skinned, golden man walked up.

He looked down at them and smiled, but it was not a friendly smile. "All of our little decoys are now in place. Hopefully you two will be useful to me. I went through quite a bit of trouble to get you so," He motioned for them to walk through the hole in the wall. Michelangelo went first stepping over the debris of the collapsed wall. Torches flickered eerily on the walls of the narrow stone hallway he entered. He looked both ways.

"Which way?" Michelangelo asked the man. There was a strange stillness within the hallway. He had watched hundreds of people walk through the tunnel, where were they all now? He wondered, at least he did until the screaming began.

The man, Heterion gave a cruel smile. "In the direction of the screams of course."

* * *

They had rode the elevator to Death Inc, caught another elevator to the main floor lobby of the building and managed to summon a taxi, or what passed for a taxi here. They had all climbed into the horse drawn carriage which looked nothing like the ones Leonardo was used to in New York. Mon said it was called a hansom cab. It had two wheels, one horse, and the Jarvy (driver) stood behind the cab on a perch. Mon told them the Hackney coaches were roomier, but the hansom cabs were quicker. So Mon sat on his lap, the hansom only being meant for two passengers.

They hopped out at the Castle. The structure loomed out over the city of Darkrealm.

"Let's do this." Rapahel said as he pulled Her scabbard from his back. "Ona!" He said. The scabbard transformed into a black re-curve bow.

They walked up the entryway. The walls were dark and ominous. Raphael stopped and looked up at the sky. "Is it just me or does it seem...I don't know, brighter out?"

Mon looked up at the sky and shrugged. Leonardo turned his attention to the Castle's gate. "Okay, so we have three outer gates to go through until we reach the actual inside of the Castle." Raphael said as they strode through and under the first gate.

The walls were high and menacing. He could imagine archers lines along the walls just lying in wait to shoot unsuspecting travellers. They walked up the cobbled drive through the second defence gate, and finally reached the main gate. There was a large gargoyle perched over the main gate, wings wrapped around it's dog-like body. Its face looked cat-like mouth stretched open in a roar..

Leonardo heard the scraping of stone on stone and looked as the gargoyle moved.

"Damn!" Raphael yelled as he charged the stone gargoyle that stood and spread huge bat-like wings. The gargoyle leapt from its perch and flew at Raphael. It hit Raphael full in the chest knocking him to the ground. "Try getting that door open!" Raphael yelled as he struggled to push the massive weight of the stone creature from his body.

Leonardo ran to help Mon, who was trying to open the gate. They heard a roar overhead. Leonardo glanced up and saw two more stone gargoyles circling in the sky.

"Raph we have company!" Leonardo shouted as he drew his Katanas from their sheaths.

Raphael hit the gargoyle with the body of the bow. The bow vibrated letting off a high pitched keening sound. The gargoyle stopped attacking, sniffed the bow and got off Raphael. It backed up, turned around and leapt back up to its perch, where it again became stone.

"Okay, that was weird." Raphael said as Leonardo helped him up from the ground.

The circling gargoyles in the sky had vanished.

Mon let out a yell as the gate she had been pulling on swung open invitingly. Mon picked herself up off the ground. "You okay Mon?" Raphael asked in concern.

"Yeah, I'm fine." She said rubbing her butt.

They caught up to Mon who was looking in the entrance to the Castle.

Raphael strode in leading the way. "I'm just hopin' the giant dragon statues don't come to life, that would not be fun." He grumbled. "The staircase leading down is right in the middle of this central chamber so we don't have to worry about..." Raphael stopped talking. The walls ran with blood. Not the, someone was killed and blood spattered the wall kind of blood, more like, the walls were actually bleeding, kind of blood.

Leonardo looked around the circular chamber in horror. There were a few bodies strewn about, but they were beginning to dissolve, as if the Castle was digesting them. Blood bubbled and boiled beneath the corpses. "Raph..." Leonardo said taking a step back from a leaching puddle of blood.

"Hey don't look at me, this place was bad before, but it wasn't trying to give the Amityville Horror house a run for its money!" Raphael yelled as a corpse staggered out from behind one of the huge dragon statues that was holding up the roof.

"Looks like the Castle's defences are up. It must think it is under attack." Mon observed.

"You think!" Raphael said with irritation.

Leonardo was suddenly bodily picked up and thrown across the room. He hit one of the mammoth dragon statues that Raphael had talked about. Pain blazed through his side and head where he had struck. He fuzzily heard Raphael yell at him. He could feel cold hands around his throat as he was dragged up the side of the statue. The hands began to tighten.

A spectral face appeared in front of him. She flickered in and out of existence. She had straggly hair with a tangle of seaweed woven through it. Her eyes burned with hate. She had colour, but was washed out, blue skin, and green teeth. Leonardo kicked out at the spectre but there was nothing there to kick. He was beginning to feel light headed, his lungs were burning, desperate for air. _Could this ghost really kill him?_ Leonardo fuzzily wondered. As he tried in vain to pull the hands away from his throat.

The spectre screamed and let go of his throat. He fell to the ground and he took a desperate lung full of air. He looked in shock at Mon who was holding her Scythe. "I'm a Reaper, I reap souls, what is a ghost but a really pissed off or lost soul?" She said holding a blue ball of glowing energy in her hand. The ball disappeared. "But I can only hold a few souls at a time, I'm not like Death, I can't carry the sheer number of souls that he can, just warning you." She said as she helped him up. "And if you haven't already figured it out, everything that is trying to kill you in this Castle, can. Think of it like you are already in the belly of the beast and now all it has to do is immobilize you i.e. kill you, so it can digest you. Like those souls over there, being digested as we speak." She said as she scrunched up her nose at the smear of bubbly bloody goo of what had once been a person.

"Little help over here guys!" Raphael yelled as two half decayed corpses attacked Raphael. One was latched onto his back, the other was grabbing him from the front.

"Eww, zombies. I hate zombies, you can hack them into little bitty bits and they won't stop. I can't help you with them either, their souls are bound to their bodies by magic much more powerful than I am." Mon said holding a hand to her nose as the zombie's repulsive stench rolled over them.

Raphael pulled out his sai and stabbed the zombie that was latched onto his back in the head. There was a slurping , thunking sound as the sai went through decaying flesh. "Leo help me get these things off of me!" He yelled as the zombie on his back didn't let go.

Leonardo charged to help his brother. His Katana arched through the air decapitating the zombie Raphael was holding back with the bow. The zombie however didn't seem in anyway concerned about its lack of head. "Mon!" Leonardo yelled as she ran behind Raphael cutting the zombie in half. The zombie still ripped and clawed at Raphael.

"I thought if you took out their heads they would stop!" Raphael yelled as he ripped his sai from the zombie's head.

"Normally that would work, but your goddess raised these zombies, they will not stop, at all...ever." Raphael collapsed under the onslaught of the zombies. Leonardo hacked and slashed at them but they would not release their grip on him. The zombie that was now partially underneath Raphael had begun choking him. He was beginning to turn blue.

"Raph, use the bow!" Leonardo yelled at him.

Raphael shook his head.

"Just hit them with it, like the gargoyle!" Leonardo said as he furiously hacked away at the dead decaying flesh. Leonardo was suddenly hit from above by a falling bloody skeleton. It clutched at him, as he tried to shake it loose.

Mon screamed as she swung her Scythe as another, quick moving zombie, emerged from the stairwell.

Raphael hit the zombie up the side of the head. The bow keened again. The zombies stopped attacking, the skeleton fell from Leonardo's back. They stood watching. Leonardo reached out a hand and pulled Raphael from beneath rotting flesh. As a group they moved slowly to the spiral staircase. The zombies watched them with hate filled, hungry eyes, but did not move to attack. The skeleton remained unmoving empty sockets watching their every movement.

Raphael went down the staircase first, Mon was in the middle, Leonardo walked backwards taking up the rear, katanas at the ready. Their decent was hampered by dissolving corpses and the occasional zombie. Raphael struck the Castle wall with the bow, it hummed and the humming was getting louder the further down they went.

They hit the bottom of the stairwell. Screaming that had been soft to begin with was getting louder.

Mon stopped and looked at the narrow passage in front of them. "This place is rumoured to be a maze of twisting narrow corridors. There are some rooms that can only be accessed by crawl spaces. It is massive, how are we going to find your brothers in here?" She yelled trying to be heard over the panicked screams coming from within the darkened passageways.

Raphael put his sai through his belt and grabbed a lit torch from the wall.

"We head towards the screaming, who knows, maybe it's Mikey." Raphael said with a grim laugh.

Leonardo looked at Raphael and realized that his brother had no idea the kind of man Michelangelo had grown into. He wasn't the easily frightened young turtle he used to be. Michelangelo was one of the bravest men he had in his Unit. On the other hand, if anyplace could make Michelangelo scream in terror, this place would be it.

Mon clutched her Scythe tightly. "This is the part where it gets really scary." She whispered.

They walked down the narrow passage. There was a hole in the wall that led down a dirt tunnel. "Think we found our mystery entryway." Raphael said as they walked past the empty dirt tunnel. They followed the passage until the branched off in three directions. The passageways were narrow and dark. What little light that was given out by the torches on the walls seemed to be consumed by the darkness around it, as if in this horrible place, even the light was too scared to shine.

Raphael looked back at him. "Which way do you think Leo?"

Leonardo looked, they could either continue straight ahead, or go left or right. A high pitched scream came from straight ahead. Raphael looked at him and ran straight ahead towards the screaming. They passed under a bloody sign written in a language he couldn't read.

"Room of Infinite Torment." Mon read as they entered the chamber.

"Gee I wonder who came up with that name." Raphael said as they surveyed the room they had just entered. It was a torture chamber. You name the torture device it was probably there. There were the favourites, the rack, the iron maiden, garrottes. Cages hung from the ceiling, along with walls full of every conceivable instrument of torture. There was a creature of some sort strapped to a rack. It struggled and screamed as another creature, possibly an orc or a troll wound the wheel tighter and tighter. Leonardo began to move to help as did Raphael, but Mon stopped them both with her Scythe. She shook her head silently.

"Mon, let us..." Leonardo began. The humanoid creature continued to scream as it was ripped limb from limb.

Leonardo felt the bile rise in his throat. The creature did not die, but continued to scream and thrash around.

Mon twirled her Scythe and struck the wooden handle against the ground. The sound echoed around the chamber as the scene in front of them shifted revealing the same room, but with a few major differences, mainly the addition of more decomposing zombies, spectres and digesting corpses.

"What the Hell!" Raphael yelled as he struck the bow against the ground causing the advancing zombies and spectres to stop and watch them with pure unmitigated malice.

"A echo in time. The ghosts are real, but they are caught within a continuous moment in time. But the echo is so strong it pulled us into it." Mon said grabbing Raphael's hand and pulling him along. The passed a doorway and Raphael tried to turn, the sign posted above the door read 'vivisection' or at least that is what Mon told them it said.

"What's vivisection?" Raphael asked as they headed through a doorway on their right.

"You don't want to know." Leonardo said as the bile in his throat burned. The hallway was littered with digesting corpses. The screams were getting less and less frequent, but the zombies were becoming more and more plentiful. They had to squeeze past the ever growing number of putrid rotting corpses that glared at them with malicious, hungry eyes.

They looked down a turn in the hallway, they could turn left or continue straight. The tunnel to the left was crawling with zombies, literally. Some were hanging from the roof, others were crawling slowly along the walls. "Straight it is." Raphael said as he struck the bow against the Castle wall. The Bow hummed but the sound was different, almost weaker. Raphael stopped and looked at the bow.

"Hey Raph can I see that for a second?" Leonardo asked as he sheathed one of his swords. He took the offered bow from Raphael's hand.

Raphael drew his sai.

Leonardo walked back a few paces the way they had come, and struck the bow against the wall. It hummed again but this time the humming was louder, stronger.

"So what, the bow wants us to go down the most zombie infested tunnel there is?" Raphael asked in disgust. "How do we know this thing is going to lead us to Donny and Mikey?" He asked.

"We don't." Leonardo said grimly, "But since this is the only thing that is keeping those zombies from attacking, I don't see us having much of a choice." Leonardo said leading the way down the narrow corridor. The smell was even worse down this passage, if that was even possible. Leonardo concentrated on passing the zombies without touching them, which was harder than you would think. He tried avoiding the puddles of digested corpses, but he could not avoid all of them, and had to concentrate on not slipping. There was a corridor to his right. He could make out an iron gate of some sort with a sign stretched across its length.

"Abandon Hope, All Ye Who Enter Here." Mon piped in helpfully.

"It looks like a graveyard."Leonardo said softly.

"So that is where all these rotting bastards are crawling out from." Raphael growled, as he looked over Leonardo's shoulder.

"Do you think your brothers are still alive?" Mon asked as she poked at a bloody smudge on the ground with her Scythe.

"They better be, or someone is going to pay!" Raphael said angrily.

Leonardo struck the bow against the wall leading to the cemetery. It hummed lightly. Leonardo moved a few paces past the passageway and struck the bow on a zombie free space of wall. It hummed louder.

They could see something up ahead, two chambers side by side.

"Oubliette one and two." Mon translated.

"What's an oubliette?" Raphael asked.

"You would throw someone down into the hole, and forget they exist. Not a pleasant way to go." Mon replied bleakly.

"You don't think they could be down there?" Raphael asked, horrified.

"It looks like they haven't been used on a while. They are all rusted shut." Leonardo said with a sense of relief.

To their right it was a dead end, so they went left. The oddly spectre, zombie and bloody smudge corridor ended in a T. To the right the passage went a short distance and turned left again. The passage that led left ended in a stairway.

"Hey Mon, that fancy computer ever tell you about a sub-basement?" Raphael asked.

Leonardo struck the bow against the wall. It hummed louder than it had before.

"Not that I know of." Mon whispered. "Anything we know of the Castle is because of Diemortia. Your goddess must have made an addition."

"Most people add an extra bathroom, not an extra basement." Raphael growled.

"Down it is." Leonardo said as he walked the short distance to the stairwell.

They slowly crept single file down the stairs, Leonardo was in the lead, followed by Raphael, then Mon. The short corridor at the bottom of the stairs led to a large circular stone room. Donatello and Michelangelo were hanging from the wall to their right.

"Mikey, Donny!" Leonardo yelled as he took two steps into the chamber. He was suddenly pulled to his left. He slammed into the wall the force of which knocked the bow for his grasp. It clattered noisily to the ground.


	19. Chapter 19

Wow Chapter 19 up and ready, hope you enjoy!

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Chapter 19

"Leo?" Michelangelo said happily as he lifted his dirt encrusted head.

Raphael yelled as he was slammed against the wall a little ways away from Leonardo, his torch clattering to the floor and going out, plunging the dim room into further darkness.

"Raph?" Michelangelo said in confusion.

Donatello lifted his head and looked at him with empty eyes.

"Ahh, it is always nice when a plan comes together so well." A voice said from beside Leonardo's ear.

Leonardo tried to look at who was talking to him, but he was unable to move his head. He heard the scrape wood along stone. A figure stepped into his line of sight. He was tall with golden hair, golden eyes and dark skin. He smiled pleasantly showing straight white teeth.

He was inspecting the bow carefully. Leonardo looked around the room. He was hanging on the wall opposite of the entryway. Raphael was to his right, Donatello was to his left and Michelangelo was closer to the entranceway. Leonardo didn't see Mon anywhere so hopefully she had run.

"Who are you?" Leonardo asked angrily.

"Oh I think you already know who I am, after all I bid on you to become my little slave. Unfortunately Lucifer outbid me. But I see he did not hold on to you long, purchased by Marwolaeth Yn Annwyl I see. Ah well, I do not think she will miss you, and if she does, well, by then it will be too late." He said with a smile.

"Heterion." Leonardo said glaring at him. "What do you want?" He growled.

"Oh, the usual, a little respect, a little power...oh who am I kidding a lot of respect and a lot power, and thanks to you , I will be able to get it." He said with a smile. "Confused? Well I suppose you should be."

"So you want revenge against us..." Raphael began.

"Revenge? Please. The Golden Goddess and you creatures were the best things to ever happen to me." He said with a smile. "Granted the wait has been very long, but it has given me ever so much time to plan. The execution of the plan did not go as smoothly as I wished, but I suppose everything worked out in the end, so no matter."

He walked into the center of the room where there was a circular pit of some sort, lined with stones that sat about a foot from the ground. He placed his foot on the ledge of the pit. "You see, without The Golden Goddess I would not be occupying the very prestigious position I now do. You have no idea what I was before."

"The God of Bad Villainous Plot Monologues." Raphael said to him.

"Droll." He said walking over to Raphael and punching him hard in the face.

Raphael's head did not move with the force of the punch. Raphael's eyes closed in pain.

"The God of Nightmares is a much better position. Anyway, The Golden Goddess was too powerful to defeat, too smart to woo, and I was not as stupid as my father to risk taking her by force. But then you freaks come along and manage to get her killed, and then the gods turn around and Destroy her. Beautiful. Sure Diemortia and Dielucere are still around, but separate, they are not even near as powerful as The Golden Goddess, but unfortunately, just powerful enough that I cannot challenge them." He said with an angry grimace.

"However, The Destruction of The Golden Goddess has left a very powerful Seat of Power unclaimed. It just took a little research and a little time to figure out how to make the Castle mine. Of course, there was one final missing key to making the castle mine, and although I managed to devise the location of _Morte Morosus_ and _Cuthach Fuilteach, _I could not locate her bow. However when I saw you in The Pit, a thought struck me, that perhaps the bow had stayed with one of her mortal lovers. I just had to figure out which one. I lost you to Marwolaeth Yn Annwyl," He said pointing to Raphael, "And I was not pleased with the Reaper who managed to get taken in The Ways. I had thought you were lost." He said motioning to Leonardo. "Imagine my surprise when I found out you were still alive. Better and better. It took me almost seven years to figure out how to get you and your brothers out of Limbo level 1, only to discover the two I managed to hold onto did not possess the bow. However I figured once the 'accounting' problem was discovered it would be only a matter of time before you came in search of your missing brothers. Meanwhile I busied myself with disposal of some Reapers who had worn out their usefulness, and of course, I had to prepare for the transfer of ownership if you will."

"It is too bad you will, of course, not be around to see me take ownership and rule not only T'lae-ran, but also Darkrealm as well, but after all everything has a price, and I am afraid the price will be your lives."

"Blah, blah, you villains always talk so much." Raphael said while rolling his eyes.

Heterion chuckled. "Yes well, shall I give you a better view of what is about to happen?" He said as Leonardo slid up the wall, along with all of his brothers. Michelangelo and Donatello were oddly silent. "Four brothers, four elements of magic. Once I kill you , I will break the Golden Goddess' seal that subverted the evil will of the Castle, and then I shall take control, and this Castle shall rise as it was meant to, as the most destructive and fearful seat of power ever created.

"Mikey, Donny, you two okay?" Leonardo asked his brothers who remained silent.

"Yah well good luck with that." Raphael said to Heterion. "Since I doubt you can put this thing back in the mortal world all on your own." Raphael taunted him.

Heterion laughed.

Leonardo looked down at Heterion it was then he saw the symbol engraved into the floor. An eight-sided star stretched the entire way around the circular room. Symbols were etched into the stone in a circle around the outer edge of Her symbol. In the center of the circular pit was a pool of blood.

"Oh, I wouldn't say that." He motioned to the pool blood. The calm surface broke revealing _Capricious Death_. "A sword forged in the realm of Death." He watched as the sword flew to the top of the star and drove itself into the stone. He motioned to the pool again, _Bloody Rage_ breaking through to the surface. "A sword forged in the realm of the Gods." The sword drove itself through another point of the star. "And finally, a bow created in the mortal realm. Specifically right here in this Castle. Made from wood soaked in the blood of a thousand tortured souls. The string made with the screams of the very first victim." He walked over opposite to where _Bloody Rage_ had been plunged into the stone, by where Raphael hung. He plunged the bow into the stone floor. It should have broke, but it didn't.

"Three weapons of power, one for each realm. Of course, no one thought the bow was important, but I knew better. I will give The Golden Goddess credit, she was smart. She wasn't prophetic, but sometimes, you had to wonder. And she was powerful, but once I seize the power of this Castle, I will be unstoppable."

"I don't think The Destroyer will take kindly to you trying to usurp her position." Raphael taunted him.

"Oh, I wouldn't worry about her, she has been interfering more than I would have thought, but after all, the gods may bow down to her out of fear, but I have never seen her use any of these supposed powers she possesses. We will see just how powerful she is if she challenges me, which I seriously doubt she will." He said with a confident smirk. He rose his hands and began chanting.

"Wind to seal the power of Hate," Heterion began. Michelangelo began to glow, his face contorting in pain.

"Fire to seal the power of Destruction." Raphael began to glow, his body straining under the onslaught of pain.

"Water to seal the binding of Power." Pain lashed through Leonardo like a whip.

"Earth to bind the Power of the Realms." Donatello's body began to glow, he clenched his teeth in pain.

All three weapons began to glow. The blood from the shallow pool trickled up and over the side filling Her symbol and all of the markings with blood. The blood began to blaze red.

Underneath the blood in the pit was a symbol. "Ahh the Castle's heart and soul. Now the fun part begins, Your blood shall run, and your blood will fill the pit, but it will be a sacrifice in MY name!"

He pulled a knife from his boot and strode over to Michelangelo. Michelangelo's eyes widened. Leonardo saw a shadow move.

_Heterion, I bind you under the Covenant of the Rules of the Gods _A voice toned throughthe chamber. The blade of a Scythe appeared at Heterion's throat as the figure of Death emerged from the shadows behind Heterion. Shackles appeared on his wrists.

Leonardo and his brothers fell to the ground.

Heterion smirked. "Death. I should have known you would figure it out eventually. You did spend a lot of time within these walls, and it wasn't even all work related, was it? You must have been quite angry when the gods Destroyed the only creature you ever cared about. Or do you even know what anger is? So hard to tell. Of course you seemed to have replaced her easily enough. I know what Marwolaeth Yn Annwyl is. After all, what could be beloved by Death, but a goddess of Death. She is no more and no less. You are one in the same you and her. So simple, so easy to figure out what she really is."

_A bringer of death. A final death of endless nothingness. _

Heterion laughed. "Do not think you have stopped me, you are only delaying the inevitable, in fact this may just work out better for me." He said smiling.

Leonardo stood as Death led Heterion from the chamber. A moment later Mon hopped down the stairs. "Yay, you didn't die." She said happily as she skipped over to Raphael and helped him to his feet. She looked at his face in concern. "I think your face is broken." She said to him.

"Not broken, but fractured, maybe." Raphael grumbled.

Leonardo slowly got to his feet and looked at his two other brothers. Michelangelo's face was in shadow, and what he could see of Donatello, he didn't look very good.

"Well you had better say your hello's and goodbyes quick, because I have to take you guys to The Attendants where they will be taken away with the rest of Heterion's slaves."

"Mon, what happened, what's going on, and what do you mean Heterion's slaves?" Leonardo asked in concern as he walked over to where Michelangelo stood, head down, eyes closed.

Leonardo touched Michelangelo's shoulder. But he didn't look at him. Instead he punched Donatello in the shoulder. Donatello looked at Michelangelo in shock, seeming to come out of whatever abstracted state he had been in. "You knew." Michelangelo said to him. "You knew and you didn't think that, oh I don't know, I might like to know that I was DEAD!" He yelled at Donatello who looked at him with hollow eyes.

Donatello sighed. "I tried to tell you Mikey, but what was I supposed to say. Welcome to Hell, because that is where we are, Hell. At least I thought we were, until I heard Heterion's name mentioned." He said softly.

Michelangelo glared at Donatello then his eyes opened wide. "Nononono. I can't be dead." Michelangelo said in denial.

"Mikey, hey bro, it's okay, everything is going to be okay." Raphael said walking closer to Michelangelo, but not close enough to touch him.

"Oh I wouldn't say that. Things are going to get much worse I'm afraid." Mon said as she walked over to Michelangelo and Donatello. She began poking at them with her Scythe, revealing the brand in the shape of a butterfly on each of their shoulders.

"Why do you always do that?" Raphael asked her angrily.

"Well I'm only telling the truth. They are Heterion's property, therefore he can technically do anything he wants with them." She said as she herded them towards the stairway.

"But he stole them, they were not supposed to be out of Limbo yet!" Raphael yelled at her.

"Hey don't yell at me, I know he stole them, you know he stole them, everyone else will know he stole them, but that doesn't matter unless we can prove he didn't have the **right** to steal them."

"Of course he didn't have the right to steal them!" Raphael was yelling in Mon's face now.

Leonardo walked over to where Her bow was plunged into the stone. He touched the bow and was zapped with a jolt of electricity for his troubles. "Don't touch that, the incantation is still in its working, it either needs to be completed or removed, and the only one who can remove it is your goddess, and we know that isn't going to happen." Mon said to him over her shoulder.

"Maybe this wasn't about us." Leonardo said looking at the bow. "Maybe my Mistress figured out that we had the bow as well." Leonardo said slowly.

Mon shrugged. "I have no idea, but even if she did, you guys have more pressing problems at the moment. We've got to go. Walk and talk Raph." Mon said pushing Raphael with her Scythe.

"What is so damn important!" Raphael yelled.

"Heterion's hearing. If we don't get moving we are going to miss it. And unfortunately for you guys, all of the slaves in contention at the moment are going to be held by The Attendants until the issue is resolved."

"What do you mean hearing, and slaves in contention." Leonardo asked trying to put a hand on Raphael to calm him down. He of course flinched away.

"Don't touch me Leo." He growled.

Mon rolled her eyes. "Heterion's hearing, to see if there are any who will challenge his right to the slaves he stole and made Exo-Ouroboros against their will."

"What do you mean challenge his right! He stole what was not his to steal! He should be punished!" Raphael yelled again.

They wound their way through narrow corridors that were now happily zombie free. Even the smudges of gooey blood were gone.

"Well that is what the hearing is for." She said in exasperation. "It isn't against the Rules to steal souls from Limbo."

"You're joking, right?" Raphael said in shock.

"The gods don't have laws, like humans have laws. The gods can usually do whatever they want to whoever they want until they piss someone off and they fight over it. Literally. If no one stands up at Heterion's hearing and challenges Heterion for what he has done, he will walk free, your brothers will remain his slaves along with all of the other slaves we have managed to pull from this basement, which is more than I thought there were going to be." She said tapping her lip in thought. "The Castle has stopped attacking, by the way, that's how I managed to get out of here and drag Death here."

"The Attendants are waiting outside the Castle, while a couple of Shadow Reapers are rounding up the few remaining slaves. And if you are wondering, Death can't challenge Heterion. Death is always an impartial observer, and if you are thinking about Lucifer and Uriel, they don't have enough power to go up against Heterion. Sorry but I think you are going to lose your brothers." Mon said with a sad shake of her head.

Leonardo rubbed the scar tissue on his cheek while Raphael pinched the bridge of his beak. "Why do you always have to be so positive Mon?"

"Oh, I thought I was being quite grim." She said seriously. "Oh and don't look to Diemortia or Dielucere to help either because they are off-world at the moment, dealing with the Fae. It seems they are having some problems related to Betwixt and Between."

"So the only one powerful enough to stand up to him would be...let me guess The Destroyer, who Heterion is not afraid of by the way. He seems to think she is a goddess of Death." Raphael said in frustration.

"Well he wouldn't be afraid of her." Mon said with a shrug, "Not for a Determination. Hmm a goddess of Death, might make some sense, but... "She shrugged and shook her head. "She has to challenge Heterion if she wants Leo back."

Leonardo blinked at her in surprise as they reached the main level of the Castle. "What do you mean if she wants me back."

"Well technically Heterion stole you too. He was going to kill you after all. If she doesn't stand up and fight a Determination battle with Heterion, she will not only lose Leo, but as he took one of her slaves and did nothing, she will definitely lose some of her standing, maybe even her position.

"Then of course he could continue doing what he was doing, and sorry Raph, but you are under no god's protection, so you are fair game."

"What!" Raphael yelled at her.

"Do you know I am still trying to figure out what your goddess ever saw in you. You are just angry and stompy all the time."

"Mon..." Raphael growled a warning.

"What? It's true, besides now that I have met, let me see," She looked at Michelangelo who was listening intently but oddly silent. "What colour were you?" She asked him.

Michelangelo blinked in surprise. "Um...orange?" He asked it like a question as if he was unsure what Mon was actually asking.

"So you were the funny one, and so you must have been purple." She said to Donatello. "So you were the smart one."

Donatello looked at her with hollow eyes. "Yeah I suppose." He grumbled.

"Yeah, nice and quiet, you are loud, all the time." She said poking Raphael with her Scythe. "Well I know this is a little sucky and overwhelming," She said to Michelangelo and Donatello as they exited the Castle into the bright sunshine. "But Leo will hopefully be able to fill you guys in on what is going on." She said leading them towards what Leonardo had to assume were The Attendants, which turned out to be large creatures that looked to be made out of reddish-brown clay. They were vaguely humanoid in shape, but rather lumpy and unfinished looking. Slaves were being led into enclosed carriages. Shackles appeared on Leonardo's wrists as an Attendant ambled over herding them towards a waiting carriage.

"This isn't fair Mon!" Raphael yelled.

"Who said the Afterlife was fair?" She asked him reasonably. "Come on let's get going so we don't miss the hearing." Mon said as she tugged Raphael along.

They walked up into the carriage and sat. The doors closed, cutting off his view of the outside world. The carriage lurched forward and Leonardo looked at his two grime covered brothers who were sitting side by side on the bench across from him. There were about 10 other slaves sitting quietly on the benches beside them. Some of the slaves were staring into nothingness, others were quietly crying to themselves.

He didn't even know where to start. Luckily Michelangelo spoke first. "So we didn't make it huh Leo?" Michelangelo said quietly.

He shook his head.

"Huh." Michelangelo looked at Donatello who had his elbows on his knees, head in hands.

"Hey Donny. I'm sorry, we left you alone didn't we?" He said.

Donatello lifted his head up and looked at Michelangelo in shock, then turned away nodding.

"Do you think he will forgive me?" Donatello asked quietly.

"Will who forgive you for what Donny?" Leonardo asked quietly.

"Raph, for what I said, just before he was killed. I mean, I knew there was an Afterlife, but somehow, I didn't really believe that I would ever see any of you guys again. I never really thought I would have to look Raph in the face again and remember my final words to him." Donatello said in a hollow voice.

Leonardo looked at Donatello in shock. Michelangelo put his arm around Donatello's shoulders in comfort.

Leonardo rubbed the scarred side of his face. "Donny, Raph forgave you before he even died. And right now, he is angry and worried because we are..."

"Up to our necks in trouble." Michelangelo finished for him.

"I think over our heads would be a better description, but yeah." Leonardo said looking down the line of slaves.

"Leo is it true what Heterion said, is Goddess really gone?" Donatello asked suddenly.

"Yeah Donny, she's gone." Leonardo said sadly as he looked at their grief stricken faces. He began talking then, telling them everything he knew. Both were silent when he finally finished.

"So what happens now?" Michelangelo asked him.

Leonardo shook his head. "I suppose we have no choice but to wait."

"Any chance of escape?" Michelangelo asked hopefully.

"None. A man told me once, 'Pray to The Golden Goddess, you never know, she just might hear you.' I think I'll do that." Leonardo said softly.

"That sounds like a good idea Leo. After all She told us to remember that nothing is ever truly destroyed, sometimes it is just different, and as long as She is still in our hearts, She isn't truly gone." Donatello said softly closing his eyes.

Leonardo closed his eye within the darkened interior of the carriage and asked his goddess for help.


	20. Chapter 20

Chapter 20

Raphael's rage had built itself into a towering fury. He and Mon were currently seated in a building that looked like a courtroom, very fancy, very nice. The courtroom was packed with gods and goddesses. He and Mon had managed to find space against the back wall. Death was standing silently in the corner. Raphael glared at Heterion who lounged unconcerned in the Accused box, located beside where the judge would preside.

The judge finally walked out. He was an older man, tall and imposing with a well groomed beard and long curly white hair. "I call this hearing to order. I am King Minos, judge in the Underworld of Hades. Heterion, God of Nightmares has been called to stand on a charge of stealing 302 souls from Limbo Level 1 and turning them against their will into slaves. He has also been charged with the offense of stealing a slave of Marwolaeth Yn Annwyl's with the intention of doing him harm."

The gods in the audience mumbled their shock.

"If there are any who wish to come forward and stand against the accused, let them please step forward now." King Minos said to the crowd.

Mon put a hand on his shoulder as he was about to stand in anger and in defiance. He would challenge Heterion. She shook her head keeping him in his seat.

Raphael glanced desperately around, looking for any sign of The Destroyer.

"I see." King Minos said as he lifted a gavel from its position on the bench. "Then, as there are none willing to stand against Heterion's actions, I hereby judge..."

The doors to the courtroom slammed open as The Destroyer strode forward in a flurry of bells and capes.

The judge paused, and Heterion laughed. "Come to challenge me little goddess." He said with a sneer. "I shall show Darkrealm how weak you really are."

The Destroyer did not answer but stood in front of King Minos head slightly tipped down. "Are you challenging Heterion, God of Nightmares to a battle of Determination?" The judge asked, ignoring Heterion's outburst.

The Destroyer did not move. Silence prevailed throughout the court.

She began to lift her head to look at King Minos. "I will take that as an answer in the affirmative." He said nervously. "Determination!" he yelled throughout the courtroom. His gavel struck the bench, Heterion and The Destroyer disappeared. King Minos strode quickly from the courtroom.

The gods and goddesses began filing out of the courtroom, some didn't even bother with that, but just vanished. Mon pulled Raphael to his feet. He slowly walked down past the rows of benches to the judge's bench. He knelt down and looked at something he had noticed.

_She is injured_

Raphael looked at the puddle of blood, and the trail of blood leading down the aisle to the doors.

"Mon what is a Determination?" He asked with a sinking feeling in his stomach, his rage having been replaced with dread.

"They will battle each other in The Arena. Whoever wins will have their actions considered just and right and the contested issue, so in this case the slaves, will be solved. But it is bigger than that. If Heterion wins he will win all of her property on Darkrealm as well as her position. If Marwolaeth Yn Annwyl wins, she will gain his property and keep her position." She said softly looking at the blood on the ground.

"Mon what battle class is Heterion?" He asked the lump that had formed in his stomach getting heavier.

"Battle class 9.5." She whispered.

"Mon, I've seen her fight, and she ain't no Battle Class 10, I can tell you that much." He said to her.

"Then Marwolaeth Yn Annwyl will fall, and you and your brothers will be sacrificed to the Castle." She said worriedly.

_We shall watch from Marwolaeth Yn Annwyl's box _Death said as Mon grabbed Raphael's arm. The room got colder and as they walked outside to a world frozen in time.

"Welcome to the 13th hour." Mon said as they began running after Death who was flying towards The Arena.

"Can Death just sit in The Destroyers box?" Raphael asked as he struggled to keep up.

"Well Death occupies the position of Marwolaeth Yn Annwyl's consort, so yes." She said avoiding the gods, deities, and other creatures frozen in time.

"I thought she didn't have a Consort." Raphael said in confusion. Raphael asked trying to keep his mind off of the panic that was trying to overwhelm him at the thought that he might not only lose his brothers, but also his very existence.

"Think consort small 'c'. She needs someone to talk and make decisions for her. Think of it this way, this is the most aware I have ever seen her. Usually she just sits. She chose Death to fill this position. Death cares for her I suppose, in as much as a creature such as Death can care for another. She has always been indifferent, but her behaviour has changed towards him. I have never seen her embrace him before, but I have seen her in his arms a few times now, almost like she was seeking...comfort?" She said shaking her head as they hit the Gates of the Arena.

A guard at the Gate waved them through as Death dropped a bag of gold into the Gate Keeper's hand.

"The 13th hour does not work in there." Mon said softly as they wound their way through the crowds and up stairways, through narrow passages, up to The Destroyer's box.

* * *

Donatello was sitting up against the stone wall of their cell crowded in with 7 other slaves. He felt tired and emotionally drained. He felt as if he was trying, and failing to climb out of a pit so black and so deep that there wasn't any possible way to get out. Leonardo was on his left while Michelangelo was on his right. They had both tried to engage him in conversation, but he had only answered in monosyllables, and eventually they gave up.

Donatello hadn't really thought that Raphael would find Goddess, but somehow knowing that she was actually gone, just added to the blackness that he knew had invaded his soul.

Leonardo put an arm around him, as did Michelangelo. Donatello closed his eyes. "Never lose hope Donny." Michelangelo said to him. Donatello opened his eyes and looked at him in surprise. "Goddess never did."

"And look where that got her." Donatello grumbled bitterly.

"Yes, but she always fought Donny, she fought against everything." Leonardo said to him softly.

Donatello sighed and his shoulders slumped. He supposed if She had met the end with equanimity, he could do no less but face his fate the same way. "I'm glad to see you Leo." He said softly. "I've missed you."

"Gods Donny, I'm so sorry, we didn't mean to die." Leonardo said quietly.

Donatello gave a humourless laugh. "I know Leo, I'm not an idiot. I know you guys didn't go off and get yourselves killed on purpose, but I shouldn't have let you go. You weren't ready to go back Leo, and Mikey you were still on leave, you could have both stayed, and I should have told you to stay, but I let you go."

"Donny..." Leonardo began.

"I still can't believe I'm dead." Michelangelo said bitterly cutting Leonardo off.

"Mikey..." Leonardo sighed.

"No Leo, you don't understand," Michelangelo looked at Leonardo agony written all over his face. "I died a virgin Leo. A virgin! How pathetic is that!" He said head in hand.

Donatello and Leonardo looked at him in shock. "Okay well, I know Donny died a virgin too, but that is because he never tried. Raph, don't tell me Raph died a virgin too!"

"Um...as far as I know." Leonardo said uncomfortably.

They both looked at Leonardo. "You were the only other one who had a girlfriend Leo, please tell me you managed to get some before you died!"

A blush flooded Leonardo's face. He coughed and said awkwardly. "Melanie and I didn't have a physical relationship. She said she loved me, but I think she still had a hard time with the whole mutant turtle thing."

"No!" Michelangelo cried mournfully.

Donatello looked at his devastated brother and did something he hadn't done in so long, he didn't even think he was capable of it anymore. Donatello threw back his head and laughed.

Michelangelo gave his brothers a devilish grin and laughed along with them.

Donatello felt at that moment that maybe, just maybe, the hole he was trying to climb out of, was maybe not so deep after all.

"Oh, what a sad lot we are." Michelangelo said wiping a tear from his eye.

They heard the click of the bolt to their cell being turned. "Good gods, what a mess." The man stood in the doorway but his whole body was in shadow. "You three there on the wall, move it, now!" He growled.

They looked at each other in shock and stood. They shuffled around the other slaves and exited the cell.

The cell door slammed shut and Donatello studied the man. He was dressed like he was going to the beach, or was going on some sort of tourist vacation, with a blue Hawaiian shirt and khaki shorts. He was tanned with blonde hair and blue eyes.

"Samael?" Leonardo asked.

"You guys are going to be the End of me I swear. Three months, you managed to stay out of trouble for three months!" He said to Leonardo.

"And you two." He said to Donatello and Michelangelo with disgust. "Are gross. You need a bath in the worst way, same with all of the other slaves in here. That is not going to be a fun process let me tell you." He grimaced. "Oh well, you guys had better come with me."

"Where are you taking us?" Leonardo asked.

"This place is not big enough to accommodate all of the slaves brought in. Our maximum capacity is 50 slaves, and we have just under 200. Caligula won't let us place the slaves with the gladiators, so I am making room as best as I can." He said holding out his hand. A chain appeared on each of the metal collars they wore around their necks. "I'm sorry, but I have to move you to make room for some of the other slaves." Samael grinned at him. "I had the ingenious idea of putting some of the slaves out in the stands." He began leading them through a series of winding corridors. "Of course we can't have slaves taking up paying customer's seats, so I am afraid I am going to put you in one of the boxes." He said with an innocent smile.

"Samael, I owe you an apology." Leonardo said to the back of the man who was leading them up a flight of stairs. The man named Samael stopped and looked at him in surprise. "I'm sorry I didn't trust you. You helped Raph a lot while he was in here, didn't you?"

"I have no idea what you are talking about." The man said with a smile as he began walking again.

He led them up to a box and knocked at an ornately carved black door. The door opened revealing the Japanese school girl, Mon.

She scrunched up her nose. "What do you want demon?" She asked in disgust.

"Reaper." Samael said in a equally disgusted tone. "I am asking Death's permission to hold a few of the slaves in this box, as the slave cell block is full."

Mon looked around Samael and looked at them. She jumped up and down and clapped her hands. "Yay! I don't think he will mind." She grabbed the chains from Samael's hand.

Samael smiled. "I didn't think he would."

Raphael appeared behind Mon. "Sam?" He asked.

"Look Raph, the demon has brought your brothers here for us to hold until the fight is over." She said with a smile.

Raphael smiled. "Thanks Sam."

Samael looked at him seriously. "Raph..."

"Hey Mon can Sam come in?" Raphael asked her.

She scrunched up her nose. "Fine with me, but don't blame me if they can't get the smell of sulphur out of this place." She said as she handed the chains to Raphael then huffed off.

Raphael looked at the chains in his hands. "A little help here Sam?" He said lifting up the chains.

Donatello studied his brother, who seemed to know the man who was apparently a demon. The chains disappeared, but the shackles remained.

Raphael stood back from the doorway allowing them all to enter.

Donatello's eyes widened. "Yeah, trust me when I say, it is a lot bigger on the inside than it is on the outside." Raphael said with a shake of his head.

Donatello looked around the massive room. Intricately carved black marble columns held up the high ceiling. Blue and purple couches and chairs were strewn about the room. Black marble floors shone in the light of the torches and braziers that decorated the walls and the corners of the room. Along one wall was a huge table filled with all manner of delicacies, from fruit and cheese to meat and vegetables. Deserts were piled on tiered trays and there was a fountain pouring a reddish pink liquid.

Donatello's stomach rumbled.

Mon walked back over to them. "Okay you guys are going to get clean before you even think about sitting anywhere or eating anything. Bathroom is through there, towels and soap are sitting on the counter." She pushed Michelangelo and himself towards the bathroom.

Donatello looked over his shoulder as Raphael began talking with the demon Samael. Leonardo was listening intently at what they were saying.

Donatello and Michelangelo entered the bathroom where there were two separate showers, a plethora of towels, soaps, bath gels, whatever you needed it was probably sitting in there. It was huge, done in gleaming black marble with purple and blue accents. Fire flickered and danced in the braziers that had been placed around the room.

"Nice place." Michelangelo said as he began stripping the mud and dirt encrusted clothes off his body. "Well I'm not putting those things on again." He said with disgust as he walked over and started the shower.

Donatello began stripping off his own grime encrusted clothes. "Jeez Donny, what the hell did you do to yourself!" Michelangelo exclaimed.

Donatello looked down at himself. His body was crisscrossed with too many scars to count, most of them self inflicted.

He looked at Michelangelo whose own body bore many a scar. Between fighting the Shredder and the Foot, various monsters and demons, they were all pretty scarred up. Leonardo's scars were still by far the worst though.

Donatello remained silent. He wasn't proud of what he did, but he wasn't going to explain himself to his brother either. "Not talking about it Mikey, not now, not ever." Donatello said as he walked into the shower and turned it on. He let the water rinse the dirt down the drain, and wished it could wash away all of his dark thoughts, all of his fear and pain, but it couldn't, it was just water. He grabbed the soap and began cleaning three months worth of dirt from his body.

He turned off the shower and stepped out, grabbing a towel.

"How long were you alive Donny, that you started cutting yourself again." Michelangelo asked in concern, stepping out of the shower and grabbing a towel.

"11 months 12 days." A girl's voice supplied.

Michelangelo jumped clutching his towel tighter. "Jeez, okay little girl you have got to get out of here."

Mon sighed. "Why does everyone assume I'm a little girl. Anyway I had to bring you some clothes since yours are gross and nasty. They are The Pit's clothes." She said gloomily. "And you two had better hurry up, your brothers are driving me nuts, they are arguing and being stupid. How your goddess managed to stand being with all of you at once I'll never understand. Maybe she had some sort of colour combination worked out where red and blue were not allowed to be together, because they are fine apart, but you bring them together and it is like oil and water."

Michelangelo laughed. "You have no idea. Just like old times. What are those two hot heads fighting about now?" He asked.

"Basically whether Marwolaeth Yn Annwyl is going to sacrifice you to the Castle if she wins. Raph says yes, Leo says no. So please get those two to shut it." With that she turned on her heel and left.

Donatello looked at Michelangelo. "Let's go." He said quickly getting dressed.

"This conversation isn't over Donny." Michelangelo said as he struggled to get dressed and follow him out of the room.

Raphael was pacing while Leonardo was watching Raphael pace with arms crossed. Samael was no longer in the room and he couldn't see Death anywhere, but there seemed to be a curtain at the far end so perhaps Death was behind the curtain.

Michelangelo raised an eye ridge at his brothers. "We have agreed to disagree." Leonardo said to him. "I suppose it is rather a moot point."

Raphael stopped and looked at him. Donatello felt shame burn through him. Raphael was furious. "Fine it doesn't matter, and if I had to choose I would still put my lot in with The Destroyer, but things are not lookin' good Leo. Samael says that the betting is favouring Heterion, and I can't say I blame them. This Determination thing is stupid!" Raphael raged.

"I thought that Leo's Mistress was like, the most powerful of the gods." Michelangelo asked walking over to the table of food. "Can we eat this?" He asked as he started piling food onto a plate. His brothers looked at him in shock. "Hey if I'm going to be sacrificed at least I'm going to die full." He said biting a piece of meat off of a chicken leg.

"Sure go ahead." Mon said motioning to the table. She was sitting on a blue sofa typing away at a laptop.

Michelangelo loaded another plate full of food and shoved it at him. He looked at the food and felt his stomach roll as he looked at Raphael.

"My Mistress is the most powerful of the gods, or at least they seem to think she is. Anyway the problem with a Determination is that they apparently strip the gods of their powers so it is literally only their fighting skills that matter. And she is not very skilled at fighting." Leonardo said to Michelangelo.

"She is deaf and blind. It makes her slow. She is also injured." Raphael grumbled. "This is not going to end well." Raphael said as he slumped down on a purple velvet couch.

Donatello put down his untouched plate and walked behind Raphael. "Raph can I..." He began as he touched Raphael on the shoulder.

Raphael jumped away violently as if his mere touch was so abhorrent to him, that he couldn't stand it.

Donatello backed away, face pale, hurt rolling through him as he realized that his brother had hated him when he had died. "Jeez Donny, don't touch me!" Raphael growled. "What do you want?"

Donatello shook his head as he backed away.

"Raph..." Leo began.

"I can't help it Leo!" Raphael yelled at him.

"And here we go again." Mon grumbled as she got up off the couch, grabbed Donatello by the hand, and moved farther away from the arguing brothers.

"It's nothing personal you know." Mon said as she settled on another couch. "Raph had a rough time in The Pit. It's made him jumpy and can't stand it when people touch him."

"What do you mean in The Pit?" Donatello asked trying to push down the feeling of absolute devastation that threatened to engulf him.

Mon began typing on her keyboard and showed him the screen. "Raph fought to get a solid body, he didn't just get one like you and your other brothers did. His patroness was Marwolaeth Yn Annwyl. Raphael got out of the pit in seven years which is now a record." Donatello watched to footage on the screen. "This was his worst fight." She said to him.

Donatello watched in horror as his brother was pretty much ripped apart. He covered his mouth so he wouldn't puke. Not that there was anything in his stomach to puke up, but his stomach was going to give it its best shot.

"Mon, why the hells are you showing Donny that!" Raphael roared. "We need to get him to eat something and he isn't going to if that image is stuck in his head!"

"Come here Donny." Raphael said as he grabbed him and pulled him to a quiet corner.

Raphael was studying his arms which laid bare his pain. He never wore anything with short sleeves, or at least he hadn't when he was alive. "Donny you look like Hell." Raphael said to him.

Donatello nodded. He had started his training again after Raphael had been killed, but he had never been able to regain his body mass. Raphael had always been the bulkiest, and standing in front of him now, he had forgotten how intimidating Raphael could be when he was in a rage. This wasn't the problem though, the problem was that Raphael looked exactly the same as the day he had died. He was wearing the clothes they had buried him in. Even Leonardo seemed to be wearing his blue mask again.

"Raph..." He began.

"Shut it Donny. Leo says I'm being an ass, and I know I am." He sighed. "I never hated you Donny." He said gently, the rage in his eyes dying. "Never, not once. I know you didn't mean what you said. I didn't realize how much I hurt you guys when I left. I didn't realize that you guys thought I was trying to kill myself. I'm sorry." He said as he tentatively reached out and gave Donatello a hug.

Donatello closed his eyes. Relief washed through him. Years of shame and guilt flowed off of him. He felt a tear slide down his cheek as he clutched his lost brother close. "Can I ask you something Raph?" He asked quietly. Raphael nodded his assent as he pulled away.

"Do you still think about Her?"

"Every damn second of every damn day." He answered gruffly. "Only way I made it through The Pit. Talked to her every damn night, because if I didn't I would have went insane." He sighed. "Thought The Destroyer was Her Donny. Almost got myself killed when I ripped her headdress off." He shook his head. "You should have seen what she did to Leo. She was the one who found you guys though. The gods didn't Destroy her Donny, she..." He stopped mid sentence. "Come with me." Raphael said as he strode towards the curtain. He pulled Michelangelo and Leonardo along with him.

He pushed through the curtain. Death stood silently by a huge white marble throne.

"What did she do?" Raphael demanded.

"The gods didn't Destroy her, but you lied. You lied to the gods, so what did she do?" Raphael roared at Death. "I get why Lucifer did what he did. He was messin' with the other gods, I get that, but you, what did you get out of lying?"

Death turned and looked at Raphael. Fear skittered down Donatello's spine as he stared into the empty sockets of Death's timeless presence. Donatello understood he was already dead, but actually being in Death's presence was a little overwhelming.

Death stretched out his grey wings and ruffled them. _I did not lie _His voice toned in his head.

Raphael got in Death's face. "Then what did you do." He growled. Donatello was impressed, Death was a 6' skeleton, Raph just hit 5' 2', and even though Death loomed over him, he didn't give any ground.

"Raph." Leonardo pleaded. "Just leave it."

"No, I want to know why!" He shouted.

_I did not lie. I gave the gods what they asked for. No more, no less._

"What did the gods ask for?" Raphael said slowly.

_A box strong enough to contain Katherine Brooks' soul._

Raphael was silent. "Then Lucifer makes a big stink over the box and wanting the box, didn't he?"

_Yes_

"So then, the gods ask for the box when they decide to Destroy Her, but her soul isn't in the box, but they never ask if it is." Raphael said shaking his head.

_Yes_

"No wonder She always talked around in circles." Raphael grumbled. "So what did She do? Why keep what She did a secret? She's gone, what did it matter?" He asked desperately.

_The gods would never let her rest. They would try to find her soul. I could not let them._

"Wait are you saying that she didn't sacrifice her soul?" Raphael asked softly.

_No_

Raphael closed his eyes. "So what did she do?"

_She paid the price_

_"_What was the price?"

_I do not know_ Death said as he turned his head towards the curtain that hung beyond him. _It begins_ Death said as the curtains parted.


	21. Chapter 21

Chapter 21

The roar of the crowd was the first thing to hit him. How the curtains had blocked out the noise he wasn't sure, but Donatello looked out at millions of people. The Arena looked to be designed much like the Roman Coliseum, but on a much grander scale. The Arena floor was sand with jutting rocks scattered here and there. Large rocks hovered in the air above the sand.

"Combination 54, the Rock Pit." Raphael said to them. "Those floating rocks will fall if you stand on them too long."

Donatello looked at his brother and realized the full gravity of the fact, that for seven years he fought in this place. He was still suffering the effects of having fought, but he was here with them hoping against all odds that whatever was going to happen in that arena would not end with their Destruction. Raphael was the only one of them that was free. The only one who could walk away, but Donatello knew if his brothers were going to be dragged to their death, Raphael would be right there with them, fighting it every step of the way.

The curtain behind them parted. A demon walked in followed by another. The first demon had long white hair, jutting brown horns, a swarthy complexion, black membranous wings and a black reptilian tail. The second had shoulder length blonde curls with silver horns, a light complexion, grey membranous wings and a grey reptilian tail. They both looked worried.

"Oh look, all four abominations are visiting, how nice." The white haired demon said.

"Luce." The other demon said with an apologetic smile.

"I see you have come dressed as The Devil today, how nice." Raphael quipped. "What are you doing here Lucifer?" Raphael growled at him.

Donatello started. He looked at the demons again. The other demon was Gabriel.

Lucifer turned to Leonardo who was looking at Lucifer in shock. "See what I mean, he just doesn't shut his mouth. However I could change that." Lucifer said with a malicious smile.

Raphael glared at him. "Just try it." Raphael growled.

Leonardo narrowed his eye, then quirked a smile. "Thank you." Lucifer looked at Leonardo in shock, turning his attention from the fuming Raphael. "You said yourself that I would thank you."

Lucifer glared at him. "I have no idea to what you are referring." He waved a negligent hand. "And if you know what is good for you, you will not thank me again." He said in a dangerous voice.

"Talk is cheap, especially yours. What are you doing here Lucifer?" Raphael asked again.

"We are here to watch the fight. There is a much better view from up here, besides we have a certain amount of interest in the outcome of this Determination." He said looking out at The Arena.

"But the souls are already slaves, I thought they couldn't go back." Leonardo asked.

"They can't." Lucifer said grimly. "But we need to know what Heterion's plans are. We need to know if he is going to continue to steal souls from Limbo Level 1,as well as figure out the consequences for Heaven and Hell if Heterion manages to gain control of Kaethryn's Castle."

"My brother is correct." A deep voice said as a man entered through the curtains followed by Mon. He was a tall black man with short cropped, curly, black hair. He was resplendent in orange, blue and white robes. Beautiful white feathered wings arched behind him.

"Ahh Uriel, I see you made it." Lucifer said with a smirk. "It is a good thing I never made a bet regarding seeing an angel in The Pit, I would have lost."

Uriel did not smile instead he nodded to Lucifer and Gabriel. "Brothers, events are grim I am afraid." He said to Death.

"Yes, we are all well aware Uriel." Lucifer replied.

_Yes_ Answered Death

"So if you guys think things are so bad, then why weren't you guys standing up to challenge him?" Raphael said angrily.

Gabriel looked at him seriously. "You have to understand, Determination matches have only been fought on Darkrealm for the past thousand years. They have however been fought on T'lae-ran for almost six thousand years. That is where the Determination matches originated from. Darkrealm has adopted them, but this means that the skills of the gods from T'lae-ran are far superior to all other gods and deities. Lucifer only ranks as a Battle Class of 4, I'm a 3, Uriel over here, a 3 as well. We would stand no chance against Heterion."

"Wait. Mon you said that Goddess fought with the gods of T'lae-ran a lot, and she battled for what was right not for what they wanted. Is this what you meant, constantly trying to right the gods when they were doing things that she didn't approve of?" Raphael asked in with growing realization.

"Yup, like I said, she earned her Battle class 10." Mon said with a nod.

A roar went up.

They all looked at the combatants as they walked onto the field. He watched as The Destroyer hit some sort of force field. She forced her way through. Left on the other side of the force field was a glowing black symbol, a double crescent moon, the same symbol that had been branded into Leonardo's shoulder. Donatello's eyes scanned to the opposite side of the field where no glowing symbol was left behind Heterion.

A gasp rose from the crowd. 'What just happened?" Raphael demanded.

"Heterion's kept his powers. He's cheating." Mon said in shock.

"So they will stop the match..." Raphael looked at Mon with anger. "It isn't against the Rules to cheat, is it." Raphael said voice filling with unrestrained rage.

Mon shook her head. "If you can figure out a way to cheat, you are applauded for it."

"Samael said Caligula was acting shifty. Wanna make a bet on who set this up for Heterion." Raphael said as he walked over to the side of the box and punched the stone.

"Caligula." Lucifer said angrily. "I suppose he can wait until after the match."

Donatello watched the two figures standing opposite each other. He had never seen Leonardo's owner, and he studied her. He could see how Raphael could believe that the Destroyer was Her. She was petite, pale skinned and covered from head to toe, as if hiding from the world.

Heterion laughed. "I will show this entire Arena how weak you really are little goddess. A goddess of Death has no right to sit upon that throne!" He yelled at her.

A murmur swept through the crowd.

"Mon what can Heterion do, what powers does he have?" Leonardo asked her.

"He uses psychic attacks. He will be able to create nightmares and make them real. He will be able to use what Marwolaeth Yn Annwyl fears the most against her, and all of her powers are suppressed."

The Destroyer wasn't looking at Heterion, her head was slightly down and to the side. But then Donatello remembered Raphael had said she was blind and deaf.

Heterion wore gleaming golden armour, while The Destroyer wore black. She pulled two double bladed weapons from her back, capes swirled as she crossed them defensively.

"Those are not a weapon you can use one handed." Leonardo observed.

"Well someone forgot to tell her that." Michelangelo observed.

Heterion pulled a Halberd that had been strapped to his back. Heterion spun the halberd, then attacked.

The Destroyer took a step back as the halberd hit her weapons. Bells rang throughout the Arena.

And so the battle began. Heterion was constantly on the offensive. He pushed The Destroyer back relentlessly.

Every now and then Heterion's halberd would strike home, rich red blood would splatter onto dull brown sand. If this bothered her at all she didn't seem to show it. However her movements were being hampered by her injuries.

Heterion laughed. She was just that little bit too slow. It took her too long to react.

"Why doesn't she heal?" Michelangelo whispered as The Destroyer stood searching for Heterion who had leapt up and was standing on one of the floating rocks. Her blood dripping slowly to the ground.

"The Golden Goddess had incredible healing abilities. It is what made her hard to defeat. Any wounds suffered by Marwolaeth Yn Annwyl and Heterion will take a long time to heal." Gabriel said to them.

"But if Goddess was stripped of her powers, then wouldn't she have not been able to heal?" Donatello asked in confusion as his brain calculated the odds of The Destroyer winning and came up with a 7% chance as things stood right now.

"Normally yes, but they could not strip her body of her vampirism, thus they could not strip her completely of her healing ability. Just as they could not strip her of her ability to fly, she had wings." Gabriel said.

The floating piece of rock Heterion was standing on plunged towards The Destroyer. She moved, but she was too slow. The rock crashed into her, crumbling and breaking as it hit the ground. Heterion had leapt from the rock at the last second to land gracefully a little ways away.

Chunks of rocks tumbled away as The Destroyer attempted to dig herself out of the rubble.

Heterion laughed. "Shall we see what it is that the little goddess fears." He sheathed his halberd and opened his hand revealing a black butterfly. The butterfly stretched out its wings and lazily made its way to the struggling goddess. The butterfly landed on her visor just as she managed to free herself. She stilled.

Heterion looked beside him as something was attempting to form.

The Arena held its breath.

"What could she possibly be afraid of?" Mon whispered.

Heterion frowned. Whatever was supposed to be forming wasn't. He reached out a hand, as if pushing more power into the butterfly, suddenly the form beside him solidified into a shape.

A young woman stood beside Heterion. She was petite with brownish-red hair, a peaches and cream complexion, and even though Donatello couldn't see the colour of her eyes, he knew they would be moss green. The image looked grimly at the Destroyer, and disappeared.

Raphael watched the image fade. He felt as if he had been hit in the stomach. He had unintentionally reached out and was clutching Leonardo's arm. Raphael slowly looked at Leonardo, face feeling drained of blood. "Katherine." He said so softly he didn't think anyone could hear him.

He couldn't even ask, didn't even have the words to ask, how The Destroyer could possibly even know, let alone fear, Katherine Brooks.

The whole Arena had gone silent. Heterion was looking at the spot where the image of the woman had stood.

"The great Destroyer fears a young woman, a young human woman!" Heterion shouted, his laughter and mockery sounding forced.

If the Destroyer had felt any fear towards the image, it didn't show either on her face, or in her body language.

"Kaethryn." Lucifer whispered.

Raphael looked at Lucifer who had his own death grip on Gabriel's arm.

The Destroyer looked at their box, then turned her attention back to Heterion.

"It is time to end this." Heterion said angrily. He spread out his arms and a kaleidoscope of butterflies flew out from his body. They flew past The Destroyer as Heterion attacked. He slammed into her pushing her backwards. She stumbled and fell from the pile of rubble and plunged into a gaping chasm of nothingness.

Heterion's butterflies had formed a great gaping hole in the ground behind her. The sound of the Destroyer's bells faded and became silent.

Heterion held up his halberd in victory. The crowd roared. Raphael felt his entire world crash around him. His bothers and himself were lost. He reached out and grabbed Donatello's arm. Donatello's skin was cold and ridged with scars.

Michelangelo was gripping Donatello's other arm as they stared at the one who was going to bring about their Destruction.

A rock crashed down next to Heterion. He looked up in shock. Another floating rock smashed into the ground. "What is this!" He yelled. "Determination is over!"

Raphael looked at the highest rocks that floated well above the luxury boxes of the gods. He tried to see past the blinding glare of the suns. Another rock smashed to the ground, pieces flying and striking Heterion.

Heterion shouted his rage as a figure stood on the highest rock. Raphael was able to just make out a silent dark figure.

Noise ripped through the arena as millions of voices exclaimed at once.

Heterion took a step back. Bells rang out through the arena as The Destroyer leapt from the falling rock to another.

Heterion called his butterflies to him. "Fine, let us see how you deal with your greatest opponents." The butterflies formed into the deadly forms of the Rhenna.

There were eight of them. Four were the wolf-like ones Raphael had encountered, the other four were giant. They stood at least 14 feet tall, heavily built, with wicked scythe-like claws.

The Destroyer looked down at the Rhenna. The smaller wolf-like Rhenna began swiftly leaping from floating rock to floating rock while the massive Rhenna swung their immense hands and smashed a good chunk of the rocks from the air. The Destroyer leapt out of the way of the massive claws. Her cloaks spread around her as black feathered wings emerged.

"She has wings." Michelangelo whispered in shock.

A gasp arose from the crowd.

She floated for the merest moment, then she clapped the two bladed weapons together as she dove at the nearest giant Rhenna. Her arms over her head she used the weapons like a sword. She split the Rhenna from head to toe. It crumbled in a flurry of broken butterflies.

She broke the weapon apart and twirled in a circle cutting two wolf-Rhenna in half. Broken butterflies were beginning to litter the ground.

She dove out of the way as a wolf Rhenna snapped at her throat. It leapt at her again. She moved out of the way of its leap catching it underneath its chin with the bladed weapon's two hooks. She swung it in a circle and ripped the hooks in opposite directions wrenching the Rhenna's skull apart. Butterflies broke loose.

One of the giant Rhenna hit The Destroyer from behind. She went hurtling through the air and hit the barrier shield of the arena. She tumbled to the ground where she landed in a broken heap.

Gods and goddesses were standing trying to get a better look.

The Destroyer shook her head and rose. She seemed to shake herself off. She was a bloody mess. Most of her robes were tattered and torn, Her chest plate was badly cracked and dented. Her face remained emotionless as she sheathed one of her blades. She held the blade outstretched in her hand. The center elongated until she held a 7 foot long doubled bladed staff. She twirled the staff over her head and attacked.

"Is it just me or is she fighting much better?" Michelangelo asked the silent observers in the box.

"She is fighting better, and faster. She is much more focused, but she is still hesitating. You can still see she is not processing what is happening around her fast enough.

She took out the three remaining giant Rhenna and hit the wolf Rhenna hard, knocking it into the shield where it disintegrated into black butterflies.

The field was littered with the bodies of black broken butterflies. She was panting hard, bloodstained teeth clenched in pain. Her weapon returned to its original form, wings again tucked beneath her cloak.

She drew the other bladed weapon and faced Heterion.

He clapped his hands together. "Very impressive. You did better than I thought you would, but unfortunately for you, I have so many more nightmares to share." More butterflies appeared. They took the shapes of giant spiders, giant scorpions, snakes, dragons, and hideous creatures out of black, twisted, imaginations.

The sheer number of nightmares that littered the field was overwhelming.

"She is going to lose." Uriel said with conviction.

The ground beneath The Destroyer's feet began turning white.

"She's angry." Raphael said in surprise. "I thought that she didn't have any of her powers."

"She doesn't." Mon said. "But if it is not a power, she would still have it, like her wings. Which means that her cold touch has something to do with her actual body. Like your goddess' vampirism.

They watched as the cold leached from her body forming ice crystals in the air. She used her weapons like swords, cutting, slashing and stabbing the assortment of creatures that littered the field. The ice crystals were beginning to grow denser until a fine mist-like shroud covered the Arena.

Creatures began screaming, the icy mist finally breaking away revealing a field nearly completely covered in the black broken bodies of the fallen nightmare butterflies.

Heterion looked at the field in shock as she charged him. Metal rang throughout the Arena as they both fought. Neither seemed to take the advantage over the other, but The Destroyer was still seconds off, and seconds could cost in a battle.

She dodged as the halberd caught her across the face. The slash ran up from her cheek to the center of her face, slicing across her visor.

She stepped back as Heterion pushed forward. She blocked all of his strikes but he was constantly on the offensive while she was on the defensive. She fell back causing Heterion to stumble forward. She put her boot on his chest flipping him over. He twisted and landed gracefully. Heterion charged her and she leapt up placing her hand on his shoulder as she flipped over his body.

Donatello let go of Raphael's arm. He looked at his brother in shock. Donatello was pale, but completely entranced by the fighting. Michelangelo was looking pale and forbidding.

The Destroyer landed gracefully, bells ringing loudly.

Heterion looked at his shoulder which was covered in ice. He turned quickly, halberd at the ready. He took a few steps to the side, as if trying to circle her. She blocked his charge by ducking beneath the swing of the weapon.

She stood and leapt back, distancing herself from him. The icy mist swirled around them as she disappeared.

Heterion looked around desperately for her.

"Come out, come out, I know how much you want to play." Heterion taunted. Heterion was not looking as confident as he had been at the start of the match. He was trying to locate her by the sound of the bells, but they echoed, causing him to turn in circles as the bells sounded close, then far away. The mist cleared enough revealing the crouched figure of the Destroyer. Her arms were crossed over her body holding her weapons tightly, yet backwards. She was holding the grip of the weapon inside the curve of the blades.

Blood was pooling beneath her. She looked tired and was obviously in a great deal of pain. All Heterion would have to do is just wait until she collapsed. Raphael looked at the figure in the Arena. "Come on." He whispered to her.

She rose a little as if the mere movement were too much for her. She tipped her head to the side as she studied Heterion. She opened her arms tossing her weapons into the mist behind her, bells ringing loudly, only to be muffled.

The crowd gasped as a memory began bouncing around in Raphael's head.

The Destroyer charged Heterion unarmed. He laughed as he swung his halberd in a great sweeping arc. She ducked the halberd sliding through his legs in a baseball slide. Heterion looked over his shoulder in shock, as she crouched behind him.

They only heard the bells when the spinning weapons returned to her hands, moving faster than the speed of sound. Heterion collapsed to the ground an arm severed at the elbow, and both of his legs severed at the knees.

The Destroyer slowly stood sheathing her weapons.

The crowd was silent. Then a great crescendo broke over the Arena as the crowd cheered their approval.

The Destroyer slowly and carefully began walking towards the side of the arena she had entered on, the side that held her powers.

The mist lifted , the suns hitting the melting ice causing the Arena to sparkle.

Heterion stood.

"What the!" Raphael exclaimed. "She beat your ass, how can he be healed!" Raphael yelled. "That cheating Bastard!"

The crowd began noticing that a fully healed Heterion was standing. "You will never beat me. I shall have the Castle!" He yelled. He raised his hands. The broken butterflies reformed into a devastating black cloud. Millions of Butterflies swarmed towards The Destroyer's back.

She turned quickly, massive wings rising out, pulling back and clapping together, the very air cracking with the force of the wind.

All of the butterflies blew back at Heterion. He was so shocked he did not even move as the butterflies that were pushed back clung to him. His eyes widened is shock as his own powers were turned back on him.

Heterion screamed, then stilled as his very deepest darkest nightmare appeared before him. The crowd as one leaned forward to see what it was that a god of Nightmares could possibly fear.

A woman appeared in front of Heterion. She was dressed as she always had been black cape swirling, black and silver armour gleaming in the sunlight. A long white skirt gently caressing pale legs. The soft waves of her dark and light coloured hair moving slightly in the gentle breeze.

She looked at Heterion then looked around at the crowd. A gasp went up as some of the gods fell back in fear.

Goddess stood defiantly in the center of the arena, a smirk on her face. She turned her attention back to Heterion who took two steps back.

"So Heterion, you have been making trouble." She said her voice dripping with raw sexuality.

"You're gone, you were Destroyed. The gods Destroyed you, you don't exist, you are only in my head." Heterion said to her as he took another fearful step back.

"Did saying that make you feel any better?" She asked him, tipping her head to the side and crossing her arms.

Anguish rolled through Raphael as he watched the image of the woman he loved. She looked so real, she talked in the same voice, had the same mannerisms, looked exactly as she had when he had first laid eyes on her.

Agony washed over Heterion's face. "Why?" He asked his nightmare. "Why did you do it? We could have ruled T'lae-ran together. Why did you reject me? I tried to save you, I tried to make you what you were supposed to be! Without your guardians your balance should have shifted. I tried to free the evil within you. The evil that was always trying to be free! We could have been terrifying!" With each word he took a slow step towards her, like a moth to a deadly flame. He reached out and touched her face.

Raphael heard a scuffle behind him. Then he realized he was making the scuffling noise. Both he and Lucifer were struggling in the grasps of their respective brothers.

"Luce, it isn't her. It is just a nightmare, a phantasm." Gabriel pleaded as he attempted to hold Lucifer back.

Leonardo was holding Raphael fast. "It's not her Raph, you know it isn't her." He pleaded.

"You never understood." Goddess said sadly as she took a step away breaking away from his touch. "Just as you never understood the nature of the Castle." She shook her head, face turning serious. "You tried taking my Seat of Power Heterion." She said darkly.

"That Seat of Power was supposed to be mine! It was always supposed to be mine. That Castle screams to be set free of the binds you placed on it!"

"And how many were Consumed because of your desire Heterion." She said in a dangerous voice. "How many souls, because you wished to steal something that was never yours to take?"

"What do a few mortal souls matter, when I could have the power of the Castle? When I could usher in a new age for T'lae-ran, a new Order?" He asked her. "You could have ruled at my side. You could have been wife to the most powerful god ever to rule T'lae-ran!" He shouted at her.

"You were the most powerful god on T'lae-ran." She said to him. "But that was never good enough for you. You always wanted more."

Raphael watched as somewhere along the way Heterion had forgotten that he was talking to a nightmare. He wasn't actually talking to Goddess.

She looked at him solemnly. "You were responsible for the death of my guardians."

"No...I...please, I did it for you." He pleaded as he took a frightened step back, stumbling on a piece of rock.

"You tried to kill the men I loved." She accused.

"You are dead, you are gone, you are Destroyed." He said fearfully.

She looked at him and said seriously. "So are you."

She and the Destroyer moved as one. Both leapt forward clawed gauntlets outstretched, as for one moment in time the two were perfectly in sync, then the nightmare broke, butterflies fluttering away as The Destroyer's hand went through the chest of Heterion. Her bloodied face looked into Heterion's shocked one, then she pulled. She ripped his spinal column from his body as he screamed. She smashed his screaming, bloody skull beneath her boot, a golden light floating up from the now silenced skull that lay crushed on the ground.

She reached out and caught the soul in her hand, Extinguishing it.

The crowd looked on with horror at the Destruction of a god's soul.

"God die every now and then, but the actual destruction of a god's soul is to them, horrifying." Mon whispered.

"Hey Donny?" Michelangelo asked in a whisper.

"I know Mikey." Donatello responded.


	22. Chapter 22

Next chapter up and ready to go! I hope you all enjoy! =)

* * *

Chapter 22

The Destroyer lowered her hand and watched as a black butterfly with wings tipped with gold flew up from Heterion's fading body. She held out a hand, the butterfly landing upon it. She brought the butterfly close to her face its wings opening and closing slowly.

"Is that another nightmare?" Michelangelo asked.

"No, it is Heterion's godhede. It has chosen for her to be the new God of Nightmares, since Heterion died without any heirs." Lucifer said grimly.

The crowd watched with rapt attention as the butterfly attached itself to her chest, becoming a 2-D image on her chest plate.

"She has taken up the godhede, but she hasn't consumed its power." Gabriel said in shock.

A voice rang out through the Arena. "I judge Minos, with the Authority granted to me by the Rule of Gods, grant Determination to Marwolaeth Yn Annwyl. All properties belonging to Heterion are hereby bestowed upon her, and rule that her cause was **right**!

The crowd stood and cheered.

The Destroyer looked out over the crowd, turned on her heel and walked through the barrier of The Arena, collecting her powers, and disappearing into the bowels of The Pit.

* * *

Leonardo felt oddly hollow. Seeing his goddess had been hard. Seeing the image of Katherine had been hard. He looked at his brothers. Michelangelo was pale, Donatello was looking drawn and pale, but his mind looked as if it was engaged in solving a problem. Raphael looked shattered, as if seeing the image of Goddess was too much for him to bear.

"Yay she won!" Mon said happily as she jumped up and down. It was strange because the box that should have been celebrating its victory over Heterion, was oddly silent.

"My presence here is no longer required." Uriel said with a slight bow to Death and his brothers. "Oh, but I should very much like to know the names and status of the slaves, that were supposed to be taken to Heaven." Death inclined his head acknowledging Uriel's request. Uriel turned and walked through the curtain.

Leonardo looked at Lucifer and Gabriel, both of whom were wearing the same stunned expressions.

"Oh no, we won!" Mon wailed.

"That's good though." Michelangelo said to her.

"I know it's good, but do you have any idea how much work I have to do now!" She complained.

_Mon _Death's voice toned through his head

"Well it's true." She mumbled.

She grabbed a clipboard that appeared out of thin air.

"So what happens now?" Leonardo asked the room in general.

"Too many things to count." Mon said looking at her clipboard.

"What are we going to do with that many slaves? We don't have the room, or the need for that many slaves!" She looked at Death desperately. "And now we have to process them all..." He eyes widened as a thought struck her.

She looked at Death.

_Yes_

"Oh no, nononono." She said shaking her head.

"What?" Leonardo asked in worry.

"She is injured...eeep, she was cut by the Nightmare Blade!" She looked at Death, eyes filled with horror.

"So what, she comes back, she goes back to Death's place, and she heals, what's the big deal?" Raphael asked.

"It is not that simple." Lucifer said crossing his arms. "Think blood in the ocean, and a feeding frenzy of sharks. She won, but if the other gods sense her position is weakened, they will strike. Gods don't like to feel threatened. Watching her Destroy a god's soul will have them wondering if it wouldn't be a good idea to get rid of her while she is weakened. They must believe that her injuries are trivial. And Mon is correct The Nightmare Blade has cut Marwolaeth Yn Annwyl up very badly."

"So what, she can't heal, is that what you are telling me?" Raphael said with anger.

"The Nightmare Blade cuts the flesh, but also cuts the soul. Her soul will be badly damaged, she may not even have the power to heal herself. And her injuries will be slow to heal anyway." Mon said to them.

"So what do we do?" Leonardo asked Mon desperately.

Mon looked at Lucifer desperately. "Prince, can you take the slaves to be processed? Get Michelangelo and Donatello processed and bring them back here as fast as possible."

"And why should I do your bidding little Reaper?" He asked.

"We will owe you." She bit out reluctantly.

"I wish for Marwolaeth Yn Annwyl to owe me." Lucifer said to her.

Mon looked to Death. Death inclined his head in agreement.

_Mon, you will begin searching for accommodations for the new slaves later, _Death toned. _Worry about the property later. We have greater, more pressing problems._

Mon nodded grimly.

"Well, we wondered what kind of world would turn a young woman into a merciless killer. I guess, now we know." Leonardo said softly.

Lucifer looked at Michelangelo and Donatello. "Come, we had best get you abominations processed and dressed appropriately. We would not want to miss the grand production." He said grimly. Chains appeared in his hands as he began leading Michelangelo and Donatello away, Gabriel followed them out.

Michelangelo and Donatello looked back at him. "It will be okay." Leonardo said to them in comfort.

"So you hope." Lucifer grumbled.

They walked into the common room of the box. A few moments later his Mistress walked in. Blood was beginning to drip on the marble floor. She closed the door behind her as she slid to the ground. She leaned her head back against the door. Death picked her up gently in his arms. He strode with her in the direction of the bathroom. Leonardo felt a tugging sensation on his collar. He followed Death.

"Leo what do you think you are doing?" Raphael asked him as he grabbed his shoulder.

"I need to help Raph." He said to him.

"No you don't. If you so much as touch her, you will become a big dead turtlesicle." He growled.

"I don't have a choice Raph. She is ordering me." He turned and walked towards the bathroom.

"He really doesn't have a choice Raph." He heard Mon say."That collar is his link to her, if she needs him, he has to obey." Mon said softly.

Leonardo closed the door gently behind him. He felt shame burn through him. The look of disgust in Raphael's eyes had hurt. He knew he was disgusted at the situation, not at him, but it still hurt to think that his brother might think less of him.

He looked at his Mistress who was continued to silently drip blood on the floor. She was standing by the counter, arms holding her upright.

Death looked at him. _I am not accustomed to dealing with flesh, you must help her, I will assist as best I can_

"Why are you helping her?" Leonardo asked as he walked over to his Mistress and wondered how he could possibly help.

_Because I must_

Which really wasn't much of an answer. "We need to get her armour off to see what we are dealing with." Leonardo said to Death.

Death nodded and began to take off her cloaks. The purple and blue cloaks made it to the floor. The black cloak looked a little less solid, but he left this one in place. He removed her weapons and undid the straps that held both the breastplate as well as her weapons. It fell to the ground with a crash, cracking and breaking the marble. Leonardo looked at it in shock and wondered just how heavy it was. Her shoulder guards were removed next . Death carefully lifted them over her mistress was now only dressed in her robes and black cloak. Her outer black silk robe had long flowing sleeves that almost touched the ground. It was tied loosely together with a long 12" wide dark purple silk strip of fabric. Death gently removed the ruined and bloody outer robe after having Leonardo help him remove the purple silk band. Under her outer robe was a rich blue Japanese style kimono with a black silk hakama skirt.

Leonardo wasn't able to see much of the damage through the outer robe, but now that Death had removed it Leonardo could see the damage from the Nightmare Blade. It was as if the Nightmare Blade was able to strike at her flesh without damaging her armour. Her clothing however was ripped to shreds. The blue kimono was dark with blood. Death removed the hakama skirt. Leonardo began to grow uncomfortable. He was basically watching his Mistress being stripped naked in front of him. He tried to turn his thoughts to dealing with her injuries. The kimono was opened and it was pulled off. His Mistress clenched her teeth in pain as the fabric was pulled from the wounds. They left on her gauntlets and her headdress. Death was very insistent that both the black cape and headdress remain in place.

Leonardo looked at his Mistress, her pale opalescent skin gleamed in the torchlight. What used to be pale and perfect, was now marred by 6 large slashes that bisected her torso along with one that ran through her shoulder. Heterion's butterfly was currently nestled on her chest between her breasts, which Leonardo attempted not to study too closely.

_The godhede is helping with the damage done by the Nightmare Blade_ Death said to him.

Leonardo looked and realized that Death was right. The slashes were beginning to close and heal. However it was the great gaping hole in her lower side that bothered him more than the other cuts.

_Rhenna _Death's voice toned in his head.

"The slashes are healing fine, but this, it isn't healing at all." He said pointing to the gaping hole. It was a good six inches in diameter. It looked like the Rhenna had gotten beneath her breastplate and sunk it's teeth in ripping out a chunk. Leonardo looked at the wound. He could see something lodged in the wound.

"I'm going to need, something to pull this out." He said pointing to the wound.

He strode to the door and opened it. "Mon!" He called out as she came running. Mon looked frazzled. "I need some sort of tweezers, the longer the better, and clothes for my Mistress. Everything she normally wears." Mon looked as if she was going to get cheeky so he closed the door in her face.

He looked back at his Mistress. "We need to get her cleaned up. She needs to go into the shower." Death looked towards the showers.

But of course Death had never showered in his life...or not life? Leonardo strode past Death and his Mistress intent on turning the shower, but then thought about the complications of getting her washed up in the confined space. The remembrance of his goddess in the shower ripped through his mind.

"Forget the shower, we'll put her in the tub." He said as he started the water flowing into the large black porcelain claw-footed tub that was sitting in the corner. Leonardo didn't like the idea of dumping her into the tub, wounded as she was, but he didn't see there being much of a choice.

His thoughts were interrupted by a knock on the door. He heard something happening behind him, but he was intent on opening the door. He opened it revealing Raphael standing with a pile of clothes. Mon popped out from behind Raphael shoving a pair of tweezers in his hands. He looked at the tweezers which were more like the long surgical tweezers surgeons used. "I'm way too busy, use him." Mon said giving a pointed look at Raphael.

Raphael took a step into the room and stopped. "Jeez Leo, I didn't know you were getting her naked!" Raphael exclaimed nearly dropping the pile of clothes. Leonardo looked over his shoulder. Death was supporting his very naked, very wet Mistress. The slashes caused by the Nightmare blade were gone, including the one on her face. All the blood had been washed away. Heterion's godhede was still emblazoned above her breasts. She was facing them so they could see her body perfectly. Her skin was milky white and absolutely perfect. She was petite, but everything was well proportioned. Leonardo's brain stopped functioning. He closed his eye tightly against a mirror image, that was placing Her image over that of his Mistress. "It's not her." He whispered to himself. But his fingers itched to touch the pale white skin just to make sure. He felt that if he could touch her he could convince his eye that he wasn't seeing the body of his lost goddess. He now understood why Raphael had been so convinced it was Her. Now that her clothing had been removed there was something about the way she was standing that screamed familiarity to him.

"Hard to believe it isn't Her, isn't it Leo." Raphael said to him. Leonardo opened his eye and looked at his brother startled. Raphael looked pale, and was clenching the clothes tightly.

"Let's get this over with." Raphael said harshly as he strode past him. He put the clothes on the table. "I can't believe she fought with that great gaping hole in her side." Raphael said in shock. "Goddess fought with a great gaping hole like that in her side...for months." Raphael whispered.

Leonardo shook himself free of thoughts of Her, and strode over to stand in front of his Mistress. He couldn't think of Her right now. Mon had shown him Her death on the laptop, he knew.

Death had a wing partially wrapped around her.

"You'll have to hold her still." Leonardo said as he bent down level with the wound. Part of her cape was covering the wound. He reached out to move it, but it moved away on its own. Leonardo looked up at Death. ice was beginning to form on his hands and was inching its way across and up his robes.

_You had best hurry_

"It's like a hellish game of Operation, but instead of getting buzzed you'll be frozen to death." Raphael said from over his shoulder.

"If you aren't going to help Raph, just leave." Leonardo said angrily.

Leonardo reached in with the tweezers and dug around inside his Mistress' body. He concentrated on his task of removing what turned out to be large shark-like teeth, from the wound. He managed to remove all 5 that he could see without being frozen.

The wound was still a gaping bloody mess that didn't seem to want to heal. Leonardo stood and began washing his hands. He was impressed, his Mistress had not uttered a single noise and he had rooted and poked through her open flesh.

"I would have thought the water would have froze." Raphael observed.

Leonardo looked over at the tub. He took a few steps peeking into the tub. "It did." He said softly.

Raphael was bent down looking at the wound. "I don't even know where to start with this." He said shaking his head.

"Well, it will all grow back, so the best thing we can do is just put a pad on it, wrap it up and hope that she manages to make a good impression on the other gods." He said.

Raphael nodded and held his hand out. Leonardo looked around and grabbed two large cloths. They folded them into a makeshift compress. Raphael placed the compress on her wound. "Better make fast with the bandage Leo, or I'm going to end up the turtlesicle."

Leonardo began quickly wrapping bandages around her waist. Death had stepped back and she was standing on her own. Raphael let go of the compress and sifted though the clothes.

"Where do you suppose her wings went Leo?" Raphael asked him.

Leonardo looked at the shadowy black cape.

"I'm not sure Raph." He said truthfully.

"How many layers has she got?" He asked in disgust. "It's like dressing a princess or something."

"You mean like dressing a goddess or something?" Leonardo asked with a light smile.

"Goddess never dressed in anything this complicated." Raphael said. Raphael paused as sadness rolled over his face. He looked at the pile of clothes in front of him blindly.

Leonardo looked over at Death, giving his brother him moment. Death was still shaking off the ice from his skeletal hands and robes.

He looked back at his Mistress who silently reached for the clothing. But she stopped hand outstretched. She bent her head down and to the side.

Leonardo grabbed the stack of clothes from Raphael. "She can't see remember, and it's not like she can feel what she's grabbing." He held out a new blue kimono. She was dressed more swiftly than Leonardo would have thought possible. Heterion's butterfly was again emblazoned upon her breastplate.

Leonardo realized that she seemed to be able to sense movement. If he stood perfectly still it took a little longer for her to be able to find where he was.

He blinked. "That's why she has the bells." He said in surprise.

"Huh?" Raphael asked.

"She can't hear the bells, but the bells ring, and the sound waves bounce off objects and she can sense the sound waves, even though she can't hear them." He said in surprise.

"Be careful Leo, you're startin' to sound like Donny." He said with a smile, relief in his eyes at having his brothers back.

Leonardo turned his attention back to his Mistress. The last article of clothing that needed to be dealt with was the headdress, since the one she wore had a deep gouge running through the visor.

Death, having recovered the use of his skeletal hands removed the visor from the new headdress and quickly changed out the old visor blocking the view of her face with his body.

"Hey Raph," He said as he looked at his Mistress as a thought suddenly struck him.

"What?" Raphael growled. Leonardo looked at his brother in surprise, his earlier smile replaced by anger and sadness. He knew then that his brother was thinking about what he had seen under the visor, and of Her.

"What do you think it would be like to live without being able to see, hear, touch, taste, or smell?" He asked.

"Why the hell are you asking me that for Leo?" Raphael asked angrily.

Leonardo didn't answer as Death picked his Mistress up and with a flurry of grey wings and robes, took her from the bathroom.

Leonardo followed Death out of the room, Raphael trailing behind him.

The common room of the box had been transformed. His Mistress' throne now faced the interior of the box sitting upon a raised dais. The curtains had been opened to the common room, but drawn closed behind the throne. The effect gave the impression of power. There were three pillow like cushions positioned on the dais in front of the throne, one black, one purple, one blue. Leonardo knew exactly who would be occupying those seats.

There was a knock on the door. Mon looked at the door in irritation. The door opened and Lucifer and Gabriel walked into the room pulling Michelangelo and Donatello behind them. Both Michelangelo and Donatello were now dressed as he was, black silk pants and blue sleeveless silk shirt. Both wore the same silver collar he had around his neck and both now bore the same brand he had on his right shoulder.

Lucifer and Gabriel had changed as well. They both were still in their actual forms, but both wore Greek-style flowing robes. Lucifer was dressed in white and blue, while Gabriel was dressed in grey and purple.

Michelangelo looked at little pale, but Donatello was looking more perplexed.

"All finished, but your other slaves are going to take a while to be processed." Lucifer said with all seriousness. "I even managed to track down Caligula and have a little chat, it was such fun." He said with a smile that didn't reach his eyes. If Leonardo didn't know better he would say Lucifer was worried, even Gabriel looked a little strained. Lucifer dropped the chains that were attached to Michelangelo and Donatello's collars. Lucifer and Gabriel walked away to talk to Death who stood to his Mistress' right like a silent shadow.

Leonardo walked over to Michelangelo and Donatello, Raphael followed. "Are you guys okay?" He asked

"Fine." Donatello said distractedly.

"That sucked Leo, like really bad, look at my poor shoulder!" Michelangelo complained showing him the fresh brand.

Donatello glanced at Michelangelo. "Oh it wasn't that bad Mikey, Lucifer even gave you something for your shoulder so it doesn't even hurt anymore, so quit whining."

Michelangelo smiled and shrugged. "Hey I deserve a little sympathy for what we went through these past three months." Michelangelo turned serious. "So what's going on Leo?" He asked watching as his...no their Mistress attempted to sit upright on her throne. He just hoped she would be able to make it. There was a slight droop to her usual stiff carriage.

"Now we pretend everything is just peachy." Mon piped in as she grabbed Donatello and Michelangelo. "Places people, let's make this look good, we don't need any more excitement today."

She pushed Donatello into the purple cushion and Michelangelo into the black one.

"Oh hell no!" Raphael shouted as he strode up to Mon. "My brothers are not lap dogs!" He roared. "It's bad enough that they have to wear collars, and have been branded like cattle!"

Mon looked at him seriously. "No, they are slaves, try to remember that. Besides having all four of you will be making a statement." She said pushing Raphael closer to the throne.

"What do you mean all four of us!" Raphael exclaimed in disbelief.

"Well unless you want to attempt to find the protection of another god, I suggest you quit whining and accept hers. You need to be here or else some other god might decided to finish what Heterion started."

"We don't even know if she plans on finishing what Heterion started!" Raphael yelled at her.

"Well I guess that is a risk you are going to have to take." She said coldly.

Raphael fought with his rage. "Fine." He growled. "What do you want me to do?"

"You will be occupying the position to her left. Congratulations you are her second consort."

"What!" Raphael roared.

"It is a strong position." Mon said ignoring Raphael's rage as she pushed him into position. Raphael fumed at her. "You are going to have to change, we can't have you wearing jeans and a t-shirt, not to mention that coat and hat." She grabbed Raphael and hauled him into the bathroom, threw him a pile of clothes and closed the door in his outraged face.

Leonardo vaguely wondered where all the clothes were coming from, but decided knowing the answer wasn't really important at the moment.

Michelangelo laughed. "Raph is still the same old Raph. It is kinda nice to know that some things do stay the same." He settled deeper into his cushion. "So comfy." He said.

Donatello looked over at Michelangelo and gave a slight smile. Leonardo sat beside Donatello.

"I know that look Donny, you are trying to figure something out." He said to his brother.

Donatello looked at his brother and opened his mouth just as Raphael slammed open the bathroom door. "This is stupid, Death doesn't have to wear anything fancy." Raphael stomped out wearing his black mask and a black kimono with a subtle dark blue and purple pattern, much like the pattern of the mosaic tile of the tub in Death's house.

Michelangelo blinked up a Raphael. "That actually suits you Raph."

Raphael grumbled as Mon grabbed him and placed him to stand beside their Mistress. Death was on the opposite side silently holing his black handled Scythe.

Thin delicate silver chains appeared leading from their Mistress' hand to their collars.

Raphael growled. "It is all for show Raph, calm down. Now all of you, heads bowed, do not look at the gods, do not talk to the gods." Mon jumped down from the dais.

Mon took one last look at them and opened the door.


	23. Chapter 23

Okay, little bit of a shorter chapter mostly because the next one is going to be long, enjoy!=)

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Chapter 23

Slowly gods, goddesses and other deities of some sort began trickling in. Leonardo kept watch from under a hooded eye. None of the gods had yet dared to approach the dais. The schmoozed and talked, drank and ate, all the while silently watching his Mistress for any signs of weakness.

He heard snatches of conversations involving the Golden Goddess and Leonardo hoped that Raphael could keep it together. He also heard snatches of conversations regarding their possible sacrifice to the Castle. Leonardo tried not to think about it.

Finally Lucifer stepped forward. The room went silent.

"Marwolaeth Yn Annwyl, let me be the first to congratulate you on your victory." He said with a flourishing bow. Leonardo turned his head slightly so he was able to see his Mistress better. Her head moved and she looked right at him. Gods and goddesses began murmuring and inconspicuously stepping out of the way. Leonardo's brow furrowed. The last time she had looked at Lucifer he had completely lost it. Now he was looking at her with a sincere, yet serious look on his face.

His Mistress touched the butterfly on her Breast plate. It formed into a butterfly, wings gently opening and closing. It flew to her hand and she held it out to Lucifer.

Lucifer looked at the godhede in shock. The room gasped. Lucifer closed his eyes. "A nice luxury box right up here with the gods, a lot of respect, and lot of power." Lucifer said softly. He opened his eyes and looked at his Mistress then glanced at Gabriel. He shook his head. "A tempting offer, Marwolaeth Yn Annwyl, but I cannot accept, after all, who would annoy my father and all of my brothers and sisters if I were not around?" He asked with a strained smile. He bowed again, a strange look on his face.

The Butterfly resumed its position on her breastplate. Lucifer backed away slowly.

After this a flood of gods and goddesses offered their congratulations, but his Mistress did not offer any other the godhede.

Eventually Lucifer made his way back to his Mistress' side, but it was Raphael he was talking to in a low whisper. Leonardo strained to hear.

"Do you know why Kaeth...no, The Golden Goddess was so powerful?" He asked Raphael.

Raphael gave a slight shake of his head. He looked like he was having to bite his tongue, but he hadn't lost it yet.

"Because she didn't want it. She never cared about power, prestige, wealth, none of it. The only reason she held on to her position and power as she did, was so she could protect those who needed it the most." Lucifer paused taking a sip from a champagne glass. "Kaethryn was the same way, she was a Pictish princess you know. Not that she ever really cared. She was good and kind and always tried to help her people the best she could. Even befriended a dangerous orphaned thief and outcast." He said softly. Lucifer looked seriously at Raphael. "My point is, that she always stood up for those who couldn't. Even Katherine stood up to gods and monsters when she was mortal, to protect those who needed it."

"Why are you sharing this Lucifer?" Raphael asked in a barely audible voice, lips barely moving.

Lucifer threw back the rest of his champagne. "Sometimes a person's true nature cannot ever be repressed, no matter how strong the force repressing it." He looked at him seriously. "Just giving you something to think about." He walked in front of the dais, and gave their Mistress a final flourishing bow. He looked at her, seemingly searching her face for something. Leonardo wasn't sure if he found it, but he backed away, collected Gabriel and left.

Finally Leonardo heard the sound of bells as his Mistress stood. Leonardo sighed with relief. Gods and goddesses began to slowly trickled out of the box.

When the box had finally emptied Mon appeared from somewhere and took the chains from his Mistress' hand. Leonardo and his brothers stood trying to remove the cramps from sitting in the same position for so long. The chains disappeared from their necks.

"Sometimes I don't think Lucifer is playing with a full deck." Raphael grumbled. "Why do you suppose Lucifer turned down Heterion's godhede?" Michelangelo asked suddenly.

Leonardo looked at the door that Lucifer had walked out a few hours before.

"Because he couldn't take it." Raphael said as he avoided his Mistress who slumped back into her thrown.

"We need to get out of this place and get Marwolaeth Yn Annwyl back to Death's house." Mon said as she began typing furiously on her laptop.

"What do you mean he couldn't take it? She offered it to him." Michelangelo said in confusion.

Raphael shook his head. "Oh he could have taken it, but he couldn't. I don't claim to understand the guy, hells I don't even like him, he rubs me all wrong, but..." Raphael moved his hands as if he couldn't explain it.

"If he took it, he would be abandoning the position She died to help him keep." Leonardo said softly. "And besides, if he took up the position, he would have to abandon Gabriel." Leonardo's brothers looked at him in shock. "He should hate Gabriel. They both loved the same woman, but, they both lost her. Gabriel is the only other person able to actually understand Lucifer's pain."

They were silent for a moment, each reflecting on his own pain. "He's still a bastard." Raphael said with a wave of his hand. "When I first met Lucifer, I was horrified, and terrified. I just couldn't comprehend how She could love something like him. Even knowing what he was, she still loved him, but I think She loved him because she wasn't fooled by what he was _supposed_ to be, she saw who he _was_." Raphael said quietly.

Their heads turned as there was a knock on the door. Everyone froze. They looked at the door and back to their Mistress who was still slumped in her throne.

Mon ran to the door opening it. "What do you want demon?" She asked in a disgusted, yet relieved tone.

"I need you to do something about the slaves." Samael said as he pushed his way into the box.

His eyes took in everyone in the room his eyes finally settling on his Mistress.

His face grew concerned. "Is she going to be okay?" He asked as he approached her. He kneeled before her throne.

The room was silent as they watched a golden wing tipped black butterfly flutter in front of Samael's face.

Samael looked at the butterfly in shock. He then looked at his Mistress.

"Thank you." He whispered. "But it is not my Fate, you know that as well as I do." He whispered.

He bowed his head again as the butterfly returned to its former position. He stood and looked at Mon.

"You need to do something about the slaves. There are too many of them for us to keep." Samael said to Mon.

"I am only one Reaper!" Mon cried in frustration.

"So just free them." Raphael said with his arms crossed.

"That would be nice and easy and simple, but if we let them go they will just end up being another god's play thing. That is why you need Marwolaeth Yn Annwyl's protection. Basically without her you would be out in Darkrealm with no money, no friends, no place to live. You would be out there at the mercy of all of the creatures of Darkrealm that would take advantage of this fact, and you would most likely bind yourself into slavery, or be bound into slavery." She blew out a frustrated breath. "Okay have them all shipped over to Death Inc, we will deal with them there." She looked to Death who nodded.

_It is time to leave_

Samael nodded at Mon. He looked at Raphael and Leonardo and gave a half smile, and nod of his head. He turned and left.

Their Mistress stood, wobbled a little, then righted herself. Chains appeared in Mons hands as their procession left. His Mistress led the way followed by Death, Raphael, and Mon trailed behind holding the chains of their collars.

They silently wound their way through the tunnels and passages that made up The Arena until they finally made it out.

Mon looked at the sky. She took out an hour glass. "I thought it was late." She said looking at the sky. "It should be darker out. Actually it should be full dark by now." she said confused. Her hour glass disappeared and so did she.

Leonardo blinked. No, Mon hadn't disappeared, they had.

Nausea rolled through Leonardo as he tried to stay upright. His eyes adjusted to the dim room they were now in. Torches began lighting around the circular room, a room they had been in earlier that day.

"No, no, no, no!"Raphael yelled. They were standing in the sub-basement of the Castle. "So you were planning on just using us!" He roared. "I should have killed you with your own weapons right after the fight!"

Leonardo was lifted up and thrown against the wall in the same position he was when Heterion had taken them.

He looked at his Mistress and felt a riot of emotions. Betrayal, anger, and despair warred with each other.

Michelangelo had paled, but Donatello was looking at their Mistress with a grim acceptance.

His Mistress looked as if she was going to collapse. She was leaving a trail of blood where she walked. She stood near the top of the star, by the entrance to the chamber.

"Goddess please." Donatello whispered.

"It's not her Donny!" Raphael yelled at him. "Trust me, it's not her!"

"Then why did you think it was Her Raph? What made you so sure that you risked ripping her headdress off?" Donatello shot back.

"She...It's not her! She nearly killed me Donny, not once, but twice. When I fought with her when I thought she had Destroyed Leo, she nearly killed me, she was going to kill me, but...she stopped. Maybe she knew she wouldn't be able to get the Castle if she killed me!" Raphael roared.

"Then why do we all think it's Her? Why do we all feel like it's her, huh Raph? I watched her fight today Raph. She fought exactly like Her. Sure she was a little slower, but I watched Her fight with Leo enough to know Her fighting style, and she has it. Look what she did to Heterion, it is exactly as she did to those demons."

"So what Donny! You have to accept the fact that she is gone! And in a few minutes, we will be too." Raphael yelled.

"And if you weren't so pig-headed you would realize that maybe you were right!" Donatello yelled.

"I can't be right Donny." Raphael whispered. "Because if I am right, then..." They all looked at The Destroyer who was concentrating on whatever it was she was doing.

Because if Raphael was right, then whatever she had done, there was nothing left of the woman they had loved.

Michelangelo began thrashing on the wall as he began to glow. "That doesn't feel good, make it stop, please make it stop." He begged.

"Mikey!" They yelled

Raphael began struggling until finally he began to glow. He thrashed, eyes closed.

Leonardo felt it next. his body began to glow, but it wasn't pain he felt, it was more a very uncomfortable feeling of someone poking and pulling something inside of him. He couldn't help it his body began to thrash, trying to get rid of the feeling.

The sensation suddenly stopped. Leonardo opened his eye and looked at The Destroyer. She stood arms outstretched. The sigils carved into the stone and the star were glowing red, but the glow began to fade as the blood leached out of the grooves and slowly rolled back into the shallow pit in the center of the room. The Destroyer walked over and pulled both _Capricious Death_ and _Bloody Rage_ from the stone floor. Her blood was leaving a trail on the stone. Her blood began to collect together and roll to join the rest of the blood in the shallow pool.

She held a sword in each hand. Leonardo felt whatever force that was holding him against the wall loosen and pull away allowing him and his brothers to drop to the floor.

The Destroyer held out the swords to the pool of blood. The blood pooled together forming into a young man with bright blood red hair, green eyes and a coffee and cream complexion. He held out his arms and took the swords. He smiled, bowed and flowed back into the pool.

She walked over pulling the bow from the stone. She walked over and offered it to Raphael. Raphael slowly stood taking the bow from her hand.

"The incantation has been reversed." Donatello said standing and walking closer to The Destroyer.

The Destroyer collapsed. Donatello grabbed her. "Donny No!" Raphael yelled.

Donatello stood with the Destroyer in his arms. Nausea rolled through Leonardo as they found themselves in Death's living room.

"There you are we were...! What in the seven hells are you doing! Donatello put her down!" Mon yelled at Donatello. Donatello managed to stand and place the Destroyer on the couch.

Donatello stood back, hands arms and chest covered with the beginnings of ice.

He looked at his hands surprised.

"What the hell Donny, you could have killed yourself!" Raphael yelled at him as he grabbed him and pulled him close to the fire to warm up.

Death strode into the room a flurry of robes and ruffling feathers. He walked to the couch and picked their Mistress up. He clutched her to him.

_She needs to rest_

Leonardo watched as Death strode from the room. Leonardo collapsed on the couch exhausted.

"Where did you guys go? One minute you were standing there, the next you were gone." Mon asked.

Leonardo closed his eye. "We were in the Castle Mon. Our Mistress reversed the spell Heterion began, the Castle is back to normal. Even saw the Castle in the flesh for a few moments."

Leonardo opened his eye and looked at Mon, whose mouth was open in shock. "So she didn't try to claim the Castle as her Seat of Power? Wow you are lucky."

"Lucky?" Raphael managed to choke out. He was shaking with rage.

Leonardo closed his eye again. He felt drained and empty. Donatello's words ran through his head. "It's not her." He whispered. "I've felt her thoughts and trust me when I say, it isn't her. Her thoughts are...alien."


	24. Chapter 24

Chapter 24 wow! Anyway finally some answers!=) hope you enjoy, please read and review!

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Chapter 24

Death walked back into the room. "I'm sick of this!" Raphael roared.

Donatello looked at his brother as he roared. Raphael strode up to Death. "No more games, no more cryptic remarks. I am done! Who is she and don't tell me that you don't know, cause I know you know exactly who she is!"

Death was silent for a few moments. Donatello wondered if he was just going to ignore Raphael, but instead answered. _Who is not the right question, rather it is the what_

"What do you mean the what? She's a goddess!" Raphael yelled

_No_

"Then what is she?" Raphael asked desperately.

_Darkness_

_"_What do you mean darkness, what kind of answer is that? Are you saying she is evil?" Raphael asked in frustration.

_Darkness is Darkness._

Raphael roared in anger as he punched a chair.

"Raph," Donatello began.

Raphael looked at him with such pain in his eyes that it was all he could do to not go over and comfort his brother, but Raphael wouldn't want anything he had to offer. His mind flew through rejecting and pondering possibilities, his eyes widened in shock.

"She's Darkness with a capital 'D'." He said in a whisper. "Don't you see, she is..." He tried to put into words what his mind understood, but almost couldn't grasp. "She is literal Darkness. Not a goddess of evil, or a goddess of night, which is a personification of an element or idea, she is...Darkness."

"Not helping Donny." Raphael growled.

"Think of it this way Raph, Helios was a god _of_ the sun, but he was not the _actual _sun. If he lost his powers he would die because he can't exist without being what he is, but he isn't THE SUN. Or think of it more like Death. Death is the personification of death, but he_ is _actually Death. If this Death somehow disappeared or was Destroyed, death would cease to exist. Make sense?"

"So what you are telling me is that The Destroyer is Darkness, like Death is death." Raphael said crossing his arms.

"Yes." Donatello said with a nod.

"So...I don't get what the big deal is, so she's like Death, so what?" Michelangelo asked.

Donatello went to shrug until he stopped as his mind suspending all logical, rational thinking, and came to one horrifying conclusion. "She is Darkness." He whispered.

"Yeah we got that Donny." Raphael said with frustration.

"She is the beginning and the end." Donatello said in shock.

"What do you mean Donny?" Leonardo asked him.

"Think of it like this. In every creation story, ever, it always starts with darkness, and possibly nothingness, possibly darkness and chaos, but always darkness, and when everything is destroyed, it all reverts back to the nothingness that is darkness." Donatello said. "Everything that ever was has comes out of the darkness. She is like...the mother of everything! Not the literal mother but, created from her were the planets, the stars, the gods, even light and life, because everything started with her."

_Yes_

"So it makes sense. Darkness can't see, hear, touch, taste, smell, and there is not light or warmth in darkness, that is why she is so cold." Leonardo said looking at Donatello's hands, which had almost been frozen by just carrying her for a few moments.

"So when I saw stars and planets and meteors in her eyes, I was actually looking into space." Raphael said slowly.

"The cold darkness of space." Leonardo murmured.

"Okay so why would this be a problem for the gods, so what, she's Darkness?" Raphael asked.

Donatello looked at Raphael in frustration. How could he possibly make his brothers understand the enormity of this.

"It would be a problem because...it would mean that there is something out there greater than they are. The force that allowed them to exist, personified. It would be like a god finding out there was a god of gods. That they aren't...the be all end all. That would be...mind blowing." Leonardo said with surprise.

_Yes_

"So..." Raphael stopped and paled. "Donny she is Darkness, right. Would that include you know, shadows and stuff?" Raphael whispered.

"Yes, I suppose so, why?" Donatello asked.

Raphael looked around the room and strode over grabbing Mon's laptop from her hands. Mon had been oddly silent as if she was digesting everything that had been said.

Raphael looked at the screen in frustration. He gave the laptop back to Mon. "Bring up Her death Mon." He said in a shaky voice.

Mon nodded and typed away at the laptop. Raphael took it from her and held it up for all his brothers. Goddess stood talking to a little black ball of darkness in her hands. "Darkness' Embrace." She said as she released the ball of darkness. The rolling darkness consumed everything.

"It consumed her too Donny." Raphael whispered. "So you are telling me that the woman in there," He said pointing to where Death had come."Is basically the human form of this?" He said gesturing to the screen.

Donatello looked at the screen in shock. "It is possible, yes." Donatello whispered quietly.

Leonardo blocked Raphael's path. "Please Raph, for now, just leave it." Leonardo begged Raphael.

"She...it, consumed Goddess Leo! Do you think I'm just going to stand here and..."

"Yes." Donatello said softly. Raphael looked at him angrily. "First we figure out what Goddess did, then maybe we can find the answers."

Raphael glared at him, but he ignored his angry hot-headed brother. There was something, something that his brain was shouting at him, but he wasn't able to process yet. He needed to work it out. "The answer is right here." He said more to himself than his brothers.

Donatello studied the paused image of the darkness rolling out and consuming everything in its path. Donatello tapped at the screen with his finger, his mind thinking furiously. "Goddess, what did you do?" He asked in horror.

"I think that is obvious Donny." Michelangelo said to him.

Donatello shook his head. "Do any of you know how Goddess' magic worked?" He asked.

They shook their heads. "She pulled magic from the gods. So if she wanted to call up a burst of flame, she would have to pull the power from either a fire spirit, or a sun god, whatever source was closest. That is why she had to pay a price, because she was always using other gods or spirit's powers." He tapped the image on the screen. "She would have had to call up Darkness and channel her power...its power. Channelling that much power, it would have killed her. She would have known this, but there would have been a price for her to pay for using the power."

"Yeah, we know that, but we don't know what the price was." Raphael said bitterly.

"But how did she know to call upon Darkness?" Donatello asked.

_Because of what she was _Death supplied.

Raphael closed his eyes in anger. "She was human, we know."

_Yes and no._ _She was a First Soul_

Mon gasped. "But...First souls don't exist. They...they are just Legends, myths." She said in shock.

_No_

"What's a First Soul." Michelangelo asked.

"Exactly what it sounds like." Mon said to them.

_She was the very first, and she was the very last._

Mon's eyes widened. She turned large startled eyes to them. "Legend has it that before the gods created the first souls to give to man, or alien as the case may be, there existed the First Souls. They say that the stars in the heavens looked down and watched Life create beautiful creatures. One day the stars realized that Life had created creatures that had become...self aware. That had gone beyond the animalistic basics of mere survival. That they were more than just animals. The stars were curious. Some stars descended from the heaven's and became The First Souls. But the stars soon found that with life, came death, and so Death took the First Souls and gave them again to the creatures. Eventually the First souls burned out, their light forever extinguished as is the fate of all stars. Though some apparently returned to the darkness from which they came, to burn out later as stars. But...I just thought it was a nice pretty story, I didn't think it was real." Mon whispered.

"So what you are tellin' me is that Goddess was...a star." Raphael asked in shock. "And she was the first star to live as a human, and she was the last of these souls to exist because all the rest either burned out of went back to being stars, and then burned out." Death inclined his head. "And she didn't burn out cause...?" He asked.

"Because she was being ridden by the goddesses. Diemortia and Dielucere were looking for a pure soul. Since the _when_ on Earth did not matter to them, being able to be anywhere in Earth's history, what better soul to ride than one that had never been human?" Donatello said in shock.

"So she would have remembered being a star?" Michelangelo asked.

"Only after she was able to access her Memory Room and actually explore all of her memories." Donatello said in thought. Donatello paled, a sick feeling washing over him. "Oh no." He whispered. Leonardo had told him the real reason the gods had supposedly Destroyed Goddess. It wasn't her power, but her ability to change things, to make them more than they were.

He sat down on the couch. Donatello had always been the logical one. Dealing within the confines of logic and reason was easy. Dealing with concepts that had no place within the logical world were harder for him to grasp. But he knew he was dealing with a world that worked within the parameters of the impossible and improbable."She was a star."

"Donny, you okay, what is it?" Leonardo asked with concern. Leonardo gently touched his shoulder. "I am a granter of dreams and wishes'. " He whispered. "I thought she was just talking about herself being a goddess of magic, I didn't realize..." He said placing his head in his hands.

"Donny, you're freakin' us out, what is it." Raphael asked worry thick in his voice.

"What do people believe about stars. When people look out and see a star shooting across the sky, what do they do?" He said in a barely audible voice.

They were all silent a moment. "When you wish upon a star..." Michelangelo sang out of tune.

"Hey Jiminy, shut it." Raphael growled.

He looked at his brothers in anguish.

"Wait Mikey's right? I don't get it." Raphael said in confusion.

"Don't you see?" Donatello pleaded. "She never changed anything, well she did, but only because someone wanted to change it. _Wished_ for it _to _change."

His brothers looked at him in confusion. "Ookkkayy..."Raphael asked.

"How many times Raph? How many times did you look down on humanity and wish that you could have what they had? Wish that you could find someone to love? To live without having to hide? Be accepted for what we were?" Donatello asked him desperately.

"Too many times to...Wait are you saying that because I wished for all of those things that...what, Goddess granted them because I wished upon...Her?" He asked in shock.

"We all wished Raph." Donatello said softly. "Then She literally falls into our lives and we all fall in love with Her, because She is everything that we need Her to be. And we all wish for Her to love us, and She does."

"So you are saying that what She felt, what we all felt, it was...a lie." Raphael said hollowly, face pale.

All four brothers looked at each other in anguish.

"You're wrong you know." Mon said softly. They looked at her. "I mean you are right, if she was a First Soul what you said would be correct. A star usually doesn't have that much power, but if a star had access to the power of not one but two gods, she could do some serious granting. But you are wrong about wishes. Wishes aren't like magic. Magic is all illusion, and smoke and mirrors. Don't get me wrong, it is very real, but magic can make things happen that shouldn't. Like a love spell making someone fall in love with you. The love isn't real, it is just the magic."

She paused. "But wishes, wishes are real because they can't be granted unless they _can_ be granted. You can wish for wings until you are blue in the face, you won't get any, that is what magic is for. So by you wishing to find someone to love, your wish was granted because She was out there. She _could_ love you. The wish didn't _make_ her love you. It just gave her the _opportunity _to love you, and it gave _you_ the _opportunity_ to love her."

"So you are saying that what we all felt...it was real?" Michelangelo asked in a small voice.

Mon nodded her head.

"So why did we all have to love the same woman?" Raphael growled. "Couldn't we have loved different women? There must have been other women out there that we could have loved, and loved us in return?" Raphael asked angrily.

"Because we all wanted Her Raph. We all wished to be with Her, so our wish was granted because She _could_ be with all of us. All of us were already in love with her, and she with us before we realized what each other's feelings were. It was only then that we wanted her to choose just one of us, but by then, our wish had already been granted." Donatello said softly.

The occupants of the room were silent. Each absorbed in their own private thoughts.

"It doesn't matter, she loved us and we loved her, end of story." Raphael said roughly. "What I want to know is what she...It," He said pointing down the hall, "Did to our goddess."

Leonardo was looking at the screen of the laptop. "She is talking to the ball. If we could enhance the audio of the memovid so we can hear what she is saying, maybe we would know."

Donatello looked at the laptop. He brought it towards him. He began searching through programs and files. It took him a few minutes to understand the fluidity of the laptop's operating system. None of the programs remained the same for long and the languages changed. "How does this make any sense?" He grumbled. "It was like a sadistic computer hacker designed this."

"The program was created in Hell." Mon said helpfully.

"Figures." Donatello grumbled. But once he started working with it and wrapping his head around the logistical possibilities of a fluid operating system that related to the user's will, almost as if it had a mind of its own, he realized the genius of it.

He was able to enhance the audio. It wasn't great, it was grainy and slightly distorted, but they were able to hear their goddess talking. "One more wish that needs to be granted. One more unending battle that must end." She whispered. "Take them all, give them...choice, give them another chance to be something more. Give me peace, give me rest, I will pay the price. But know, although I go gently into your good night, I will rage, rage against the dying of light. This, I vow."

Donatello paused the clip. He stared at the screen. They were no further ahead than they had been. His shoulders drooped in defeat.

"That was a waste!" Raphael yelled. "I say we go into Darkness' room and get some damn answers."

"She misquoted." Leonardo said in confusion. "Why did she misquote?"

"Who cares Leo, so she got the quote wrong so what?" Raphael yelled in frustrated anger.

Leonardo pointed to the screen. "I quoted this to her when the binding was killing her. I told her not to go gently into that good night, to rage rage against the

dying of the light."

"So she changed it to suit her own purposes so what?" Raphael said furiously.

"She said to me right after that 'sometimes the darkness has the softest embrace, the light the harshest." Leonardo's brown eye widened and he looked at Donatello.

Donatello paled. "Near the end, she talked a lot about darkness. I always thought she was talking about the darkness inside her, the magical darkness, basically Diemortia. What if that wasn't what she was talking about. What if she was talking about Darkness, capital 'D'?"

"The darkness always wishes for something." Michelangelo piped up.

"So 'the Darkness has the softest embrace'; 'the Darkness always wishes for something;'" Donatello paled. "The Light always wishes for the Destruction of Darkness.' Light with a capital 'L'" He pointed to the screen."One more unending battle that must end. I will rage rage against the dying of Light."

"Darkness and Light are fighting." Donatello whispered.

"But... Darkness and Light are..." Mon moved her hands around as if she couldn't quite get into words what she wanted to say. "They don't exist like that. I mean there are gods of light and gods of darkness, but to think of Light and Darkness as...as corporeal beings...I mean...okay I get that she exists," Mon motioned down the hall. "But if that were true...Darkness and Light have always been fighting, since the creation of Light they have been fighting, are still fighting, but Darkness and Light cannot win against each other." Mon said in confusion.

"So what changed? Oh gods her soul." Donatello said in shock. "Darkness wished for a way to defeat Light, no, win the battle against Light. But if Goddess was a star she wouldn't be giving Darkness anything more than she already had, so why would Darkness wish for a soul, unless...Light already had one." Donatello's mind raced He jumped to his feet and began to pace. "Darkness and Light can never win against each other because they are in a constant state of balance. They are insubstantial entities. They have no bodies, they don't actually fight against each other literally speaking. But what if that changed? What if Darkness and Light became corporeal living entities? They could fight against, and Destroy each other."

"But the only thing Marwolaeth Yn Annwyl ever pays attention to are the Rhenna." She said in confusion.

"Mon, you described the Rhenna as...light creatures." Raphael said slowly.

"Because they are...lit from within. Oh gods Darkness has been fighting with Light for the past thousand years!" She wailed.

_Yes_ Death toned.

"So when you said she was searching, she was searching for Light. She fights Light's army, but she can't find Light."

_But Light has found her_

"So you mean Darkness has been hiding from Light for nearly 1000 years?" Leonardo asked incredulous.

_Yes, until she opened her eyes for you_. Death said pointing at Raphael

"But she opened her eyes for that other god who went insane!" Raphael said taking a step back.

_No. Zephyr removed the headdress, but the eyes did not open. He understood what he saw. But you let Light in._

"So, Goddess gave her soul to Darkness so that Darkness could battle against Light. But why did Darkness need a soul?" Michelangelo asked.

"Because Darkness has no concept of life, of living, of humanity. Darkness would have needed something to...fill, to use as a mould. Darkness would have needed to understand. But Darkness does not understand. After 1000 years Darkness still does not understand because all Darkness knows is...nothingness and silence and...death." Donatello said slowly. "That is why you are helping her, keeping her safe, because darkness and death are synonymous with each other. Just like light and...life."

_Yes_

"So what Donny? What do we care if Darkness and Light are battling it out?" Raphael asked angrily, edging ever closer to the hallway that led to Darkness' room.

Donatello slowly came to one awful conclusion. "Because if Darkness Destroys Light, darkness and death will reign over the worlds. All light and life will cease to exist."

"Okay, so what, we kill Darkness while she is recovering and then everything will be good." Michelangelo said with a shrug.

Donatello shook his head. "No Mikey, if we did that, then light and life would reign over the world."

"Not seeing a problem with that." Michelangelo said in confusion. "Better than death and darkness."

"Think about it Mikey. Imagine a world where the sun never stopped shinning, a world where nothing ever died." Donatello said hoping he would understand the horror of such a world. But of course the confusion on all of his brother's faces told him he was not explaining things well.

"If the sun never goes down, the whole balance of the world would shift. It would be hot all the time, everywhere, but more importantly nothing would ever die...ever."

"And this would be bad because?" Mikey said slowly.

Donatello nearly screamed in frustration. "Mikey, how did you die?" Donatello said slowly. Donatello of course knew the answer. After all he was the one who was handed not one but two folded American flags for his brother's contribution to the war. He was the one who buried them beside Raphael.

Michelangelo looked at him in shock. "I...I...was blown up." He said softly as if he was actually trying to remember his death but couldn't.

"So imagine if you couldn't die." Donatello continued as Michelangelo opened his mouth. "And can't die doesn't mean invulnerable or increased healing abilities. It would mean you could be in a million pieces and not die, probably feeling every bit of unimaginable horrific pain for all eternity."

If Michelangelo hadn't already been green, he would be now. "Okay I get it." He said slowly swallowing. "Light winning would be bad. So neither of them can win, but they are going to try."

"Why would she give her soul to Darkness?" Raphael asked.

_Because Katherine is Katherine, and it is her nature to protect those who need protecting_

"So she agrees to give her soul to Darkness as long as Darkness doesn't try to fight against and Destroy Light. But the moment Darkness decides to Destroy Light, she is going to fight Darkness." Leonardo finished solemnly.

"So you are telling me that Goddess might still be inside of Darkness somewhere?" Raphael asked desperately.

They all looked to Death.

_I do not know. Perhaps her soul still exists within Darkness, perhaps Darkness is remembering the last conscious thoughts of Katherine Brooks, before her soul burnt out._

"It's been a thousand years since this happened." Donatello said desolately as he pointed to the screen. "A thousand years is long enough for a very old star to finally burn out and fade away." He said softly.

"So we walk in there and get Darkness to spill!" Raphael shouted.

Donatello's brow furrowed in thought and came to a conclusion. "She's still in there." He said suddenly.

"How can you be sure Donny? How do you know it isn't just as Death said, bits and pieces of Goddess' memory making Darkness act in an unusual manner." Leonardo asked hopefully.

"Because Darkness was afraid of Katherine." He said with conviction. "Why fear someone who is gone? Maybe Goddess has been influencing her actions."

"Well she has definitely been acting strange since Raphael showed up." Mon said tapping her lips in thought. "But she hasn't been consistently acting off, just every once in a while."

"Lucifer figured it out." Raphael said in shock. "He knows that She is still in there. She is fighting and influencing Darkness when she is trying to...to protect those she loves." Raphael looked at his brothers in disbelief. "The people she loves are her greatest weakness, and her greatest strength. That is what Lucifer said."

Donatello looked at his hands bleakly. "Raph, you may be right but...I don't want you to think that She is coming back."

"Yes she is Donny, she's trying." Raphael said desperately.

"No she isn't. She gave her soul to Darkness, her vow is sacred. Unless Darkness moves to Destroy Light, she will never rise. She asked for Darkness to give her rest, give her peace. Gods Raph, she has been alive for millions of years, millions, can you even grasp the length of time that would even encompass. She's tired Raph. One more battle, that is what she said. One more and...and when that battle is done, she will finally...her light will finally be extinguished." Donatello said wretchedly.

"I can't believe it Donny. I can't believe that she would just..." Donatello cut Raphael off.

"Just what Raph? Not fight? She spent nearly five thousand years constantly fighting against two gods trying to gain possession of her soul. At the same time fighting off constant attacks from other gods who wanted her power and her position. Not to mention fighting against the other gods because she was tired of them playing with mortal lives. She fought and died fighting in Hell, and saved the world from the Apocalypse. She was still, at her very core, human Raph. We fought for what, ten years before we were finally sick of the constant attacks, the constant threats to our lives, not to mention the lives of those we cared about. Now imagine doing that for thousands of years. Gods Raph, I would have thrown in the towel and said enough a long time ago, but she fought because she had people she needed to keep safe, and she is still not at rest. She is making sure we stay safe, she is making sure Darkness doesn't Destroy Light. Can you even imagine how much absolute strength of will it must have taken for her to influence an entity such as Darkness, even a tiny amount? I know I can't. Just accept the fact Raph, She...She's not coming back, and we have to worry about the fact that I don't remember it being that light out when I saw this room in Goddess' memories." Donatello said pointing to the window as he tried to stamp down the absolute and utter sense of loss his own words inspired within his own heart. He felt warmth on his cheeks as he realized tears had begun to trickle down. He quickly dashed them away. The hole he had been steadily climbing out of within his own mind suddenly got deeper and harsher. He closed his eyes as his brothers looked at the light streaming in through the window.

He understood Her wish. Logically he understood her desire for it to all just end. Donatello had never had thoughts to end his life, not once, even after his brothers had all died. But she had died so many times, countless times and never found rest. His mind understood, no matter how much his heart screamed in protest.

"So She knew?" Michelangelo asked.

Donatello looked at him. "Knew what Mikey?"

"She knew about this whole Darkness and Light thing. But how could she know?" Michelangelo asked.

"Maybe because she was darkness and light. Magic is, at its core, a balance of opposing forces. She had to make sure she remained in constant balance. Maybe she could feel that Darkness and Light had become if not precisely unbalanced, possibly... changed?" Donatello said slowly, his mind racing. "But she knew she was going to die, one way or another her Fate was sealed. But she wasn't prophetic..." Donatello said more to himself than to his brothers.

"What was that Donny?" Leonardo asked.

"Heterion said she wasn't prophetic," He looked at Michelangelo and Raphael. "She couldn't predict the future. But he said, 'sometimes you had to wonder.' What if...?" He began thinking.

"Chess." Leonardo said suddenly. They all looked at Leonardo in confusion. "Chess, she played Chess with Death. Really good chess players are supposed to be able to predict the moves of their opponents to at least 5 moves ahead. But real life isn't like a chess board there are more variables in play, but it may be possible that once she knew the key players and the variables, then she would be able to figure out not only how to counter her opponents moves, but what all of the possible outcomes would be." Leonardo said in shock.

"She knew what the outcome was going to be in Hell. Lucifer said she never used any magic in Hell after her Death and Destruction spell." Raphael said in shock.

"Well she could have theorized a possible outcome, she wouldn't have known for sure, but it is possible she was devoting all of her magical energy to the one moment in time, where she would summon and pull power from the biggest strongest entity out there." Donatello said in awe. "And she would have known there would be a price, but she probably did not know the price until she summoned Darkness. And then...then she would have made her...choice." Donatello said desolately.

He looked at the devastated faces of his brothers and tried to get them to focus, to shift from thoughts of Her, and her final decision. "Darkness is badly injured, and if Light decides to strike now, It will lose, and we are not just talking about just Earth suffering, we are talking Universes suffering." Donatello said to his brothers.

"So even though we're dead, we're still trying to save the world." Raphael said with disgust as he turned and ran into Death.

_Darkness is very weak _Death's voice toned.

"Great, so how long do you think we have until Light decides to show up?" Raphael growled backing away from Death.

Bells sounded as Donatello jerked his head in the direction of the sound. Darkness stood, hand braced against the wall to keep her upright.

"I guess that answers your question Raph." Michelangelo said bleakly.

Darkness looked to Death.

_I had always wondered how it would all end _Death's voice almost sounded sad. _Mon_

Mon nodded grimly as she stood. "I have to know." She asked quietly. "Why did Darkness destroy those Reapers and the two souls?"

_Because they wished for the peace that only oblivion could give._

Mon nodded her head curtly.

"Wait, what are you doing?" Michelangelo asked Mon in confusion.

Darkness looked up at the ceiling, her and Death vanished.

"Death fights Michelangelo. We Reapers are really just an extension of Death. We must fight as well. " Mon said seriously.

"Where is she going Mon?" Raphael asked desperately. "She can't fight, not like she is, she can barely stand!"

"A place where Light and Darkness collide. Darkrealm, a city that straddles the realm of Death and the realm of the gods, the ones who control life." Donatello said grimly.

"We're coming." Raphael said growling and grabbing onto Mon.

"But..." Mon began.

"I failed Goddess once, I am not going to fail Her again!" Raphael said angrily. "Even, even if it isn't really...Her." Raphael finished more softly.


	25. Chapter 25

Chapter 25

Leonardo grimly stood, and strode down the hallway, returning a moment later with familiar weapons. Raphael pulled his sais from inside his kimono and slipped them through the outer belt. Goddess' scabbard was already strapped to Raphael's back. Leonardo had his katana blades strapped to his back. He tossed Donatello a bo, and handed Michelangelo a pair of nun-chucks.

"We're fightin against things the Reapers can't even kill." Raphael said grimly.

"Yes, but if we fail, it isn't really going to matter." Leonardo said severely.

"So Donny, got any ideas on how to stop two ancient entities from Destroying each other and basically ending life as we know it?" Michelangelo asked as they followed Mon to the elevator. Leonardo momentarily paused in front of the open doors, then proceeded through them.

They piled into the elevator and Mon Hit the button for Death Inc. "Death Inc is where most of the Reapers are, we'll stop there and see what we can see." Nausea shot through Donatello. He looked at his brothers as his stomach dipped.

"No idea." He said through clenched teeth.

The elevator door opened into chaos. People, or Raphael supposed, Reapers were dashing around in absolute confusion. "We are so dead." Raphael grumbled as they exited.

Raphael reached out and grabbed a Reaper that was running by. "Where's Death, and Dar...The Destroyer?" He growled.

The young red haired man shook in his grasp. "They're...they're heading to The Arena." He stuttered.

Mon looked around the room in disgust. "That is enough!" Her voice rang throughout the room. All of the Reapers froze. "All of your accounts are not going to mean anything if the world is won by Light. Now listen up, Scythes, and death cloaks, ready them. Let's get a move on people. We have a war to stop! Graham stop snivelling and get sectors 1 through 6 mobilized. You, over there Hallow, you are in charge of 7 through 13. Get to The Arena as fast as possible!" Mon shouted at them. Raphael looked at Mon in shock.

"Hey, after the whole Rhenna incident, I decided it would be a good idea to know how to fight. Some of the reapers have been trained, it isn't going to be enough, but we can always hope." She said gloomily.

"And pray." Michelangelo said softly.

They piled back into the elevator and Mon hit the button for the main floor.

They exited the elevator and ran for the front doors of the building.

They hit the doors and only skidded to a halt when they emerged into the bright sunlight. The sunlight was intense. Raphael looked around. Gods and other creatures were intently listening to radios.

Raphael strode over to a beautiful dark haired girl, who was wearing a slave collar. "What's going on!" He asked pointing to the radio.

She did not look away from the radio. " Marwolaeth Yn Annwyl is fighting in The Arena with someone, and there are these glowing creatures that are tearing up the city."

There was the sound of tearing paper slightly to Raphael's left. He dodged out of the way as sickle like claws sliced savagely at where he had stood.

He pulled out his sais as he dodged the Rhenna a second time. Gods, slaves and other deities began running and screaming. The Rhenna's gaze shifted and locked onto Mon.

"They are tearing holes through the very fabric of this world!" Donatello said as he dodged a Rhenna that had slipped through the tear the first had come through.

"Goody." Raphael said grimly. The first Rhenna was a wolf-like one, all hair and claws and teeth, the other one was the more human-ish looking ones. It was the smallest one he had seen, only around 8 feet in height, with a stretched thin limbed appearance. Grotesquely long arms tapered into long thin razor sharp claws. Wolf -Rhenna had Leonardo and Mon cornered, while the other one was being held off by Michelangelo and Donatello. Fortunately that Rhenna didn't seem too concerned with them, it seemed more interested in the Death Inc building, but Donatello and Michelangelo were not letting it pass, so it was fighting them.

"These things are really ugly!"Michelangelo shouted as his nunchucks hit the Rhenna in the face.

"You think these ones are ugly, just wait till you see all of the other human-ish ones!" Raphael yelled as he leapt onto the back of the Rhenna attacking Donatello and Michelangelo. He plunged his sais into the Rhenna's head as it thrashed in agony. It swung its head back and to the side throwing Raphael off. He hit the ground hard, his sais skittering across the cobbled road.

Mon shimmered, her school girl uniform was replaced by grey tattered robes, the hood obscuring everything but her lips and chin. She swung her Scythe and he felt it then, the slight drop in temperature as the 13th hour rolled over them. Everyone in the streets was caught, frozen in time, like some sort of horrific waxworks display where everyone was running for their lives and screaming in terror.

Raphael got painfully to his feet. He grabbed his sais. Mon leapt forward in a flurry of robes, Scythe arcing through the air hitting the wolf- Rhenna in the neck. The Rhenna's head bounced and rolled to the ground. They looked at the Rhenna. "Leo!" Raphael shouted as the other Rhenna knocked Michelnagelo and Donatello to the ground with a swipe if it's claws. It pivoted on its misshapen legs and charged, it's claws outstretched to strike at Leonardo's blind side. Leonardo's blades blocked the claws, but he was pushed back by the strength of the blow.

Mon swung her Scythe hitting the Rhenna, her blade bouncing harmlessly off the Rhenna's neck.

Mon dodged the razor sharp claws as Leonardo recovered and rolled to his feet. Donatello leapt onto the Rhenna's back using his bo to pull back at the creature's neck. The creature thrashed it's head around trying to dislodge him. Raphael slashed at the Rhenna's leg causing it to stumble back. It slashed at Donatello with its claws. Donatello let go of his bo falling to the ground, hitting hard but managing to turn the movement into a roll.

Leonardo's blades arced through the air in one swift, graceful movement, removing the second Rhenna's head. It landed next to the first. They watched as the Rhenna both began to disappear, a little globe of blue light emerged from the fading form of the wolf-like Rhenna, while the other more human Rhenna vanished into a dark mist.

Mon caught the blue glowing globe in shock. "This is a mortal soul!" She exclaimed in horror.

"So what, that was a mortal soul that the Rhenna ate?" Raphael asked.

Mon shook her head violently back and forth inside her hood. "No this is the Rhenna's soul! Oh no, Light has Life." She said with growling understanding.

Raphael looked at Donatello who had paled. "Light has Life. They used the mortal souls from the ways to create the Rhenna, and then the Rhenna began to feed upon the mortal souls captured in the ways to get stronger." Donatello said in horror.

"Ewww." Michelangelo said in disgust.

"Well now I suppose we know why they were consuming souls. Once they had enough Rhenna running around, Light just needed the Rhenna to get stronger after that." Leonardo said in thought. "But what about the one that just disappeared into a black mist?"

Mon looked at the spot where the other Rhenna had vanished. "I think...I think it used to be a Reaper." She said miserably. "I was able to cut the one with the mortal soul with my Scythe because it had a mortal soul, and I am a Reaper of mortal souls. But, Reapers can't be cut by another Reaper's Scythe, and...I suppose, we don't have souls." She said wretchedly.

They looked at Mon, whose face was mostly in shadow. Leonardo reached out and touched her shoulder in comfort. "I guess we know what happened to the Reapers taken by the Rhenna, they themselves were turned into Rhenna." She said shaking herself out of her gloom, turning her attention to just over Raphael's shoulder.

Raphael looked over his shoulder to where Michelangelo was standing. Donatello had moved over to stand by him and was now looking at Michelangelo's arm. Blood was running down his right arm where the Rhenna's claws had torn through the upper part of his shoulder.

"This is really bad Mikey, and really deep." Donatello said with concern as he began ripping at his shirt forming a compress. Raphael ripped off the sleeve of his Kimono and tore it into strips. He walked over and handed Donatello the strips of fabric. Donatello wrapped Michelangelo's arm, but it would take a while for the bleeding to stop. Michelangelo held his hand against his shoulder, trying to stanch the flow of blood.

"Yeah, well, it hurts too." Michelangelo complained. "But we have bigger problems to worry about." He said gesturing towards The Arena, where flashes of dark and light lit the sky.

Mon tucked the soul into her robes. "They aren't affected by the 13th hour."

"Let's move." Leonardo said with a worried look at Michelangelo's shoulder.

They ran, Mon following closely behind Leonardo. Mon almost looked as if she were flying, and maybe she was. The Scythe was strapped to her back, grey robes floating around her as she ran. Donatello and Michelangelo were trying to keep up behind them.

"You two are out of shape." Raphael growled at them.

"Yeah well, you try living chained up in a tunnel for three months and let's see how in shape you are!" Michelangelo shot back.

"So what's with the whole Death look Mon?" Raphael asked as they rounded a corner.

"They are death robes. They connect us Reapers that aren't Shadow Reapers, closer to Death and allow us to draw power from him." She said as she dodged around a terrified and frozen demon.

"So the Shadow Reapers already draw power from Death?" Donatello asked.

"No, the Shadow Reapers are really an extension of Death's will. They don't think or anything, not like we do. We can act and react, think, feel..." Mon skidded to a halt. "Oh no." She whispered as Raphael almost ploughed into her.

Leonardo skidded to a stop. "What?"

Mon shook her head. "Talk and run." She said beginning to run again. "What if...what if we are the reason Light is attacking?" She asked.

"What do you mean?" Leonardo shouted over his shoulder.

"Think about it. We Reapers were nothing before, literal shadows, an extension of Death's will, then we become sentient." She said as they neared The Arena.

"I get it, so then Light sees that Death's Shadow Reapers are more than they used to be, and Light thinks Death is building an army at the behest of Darkness to rise against Light. So Light turns around and begins building Its own army by taking Death's supposed soldiers and corrupting them into the Rhenna." Donatello finished for her. "And then Light figures out that if the Rhenna can be made from the souls of mortals and the essence of Reapers, why can't It have a body, a way to finally Destroy Darkness once and for all, because Darkness will need a body as well because It will need to find Light which has suddenly disappeared."

"AAARRRGGGHHH." Raphael yelled angrily. "This just pisses me off even more! Stupid gods and other things fighting all the time!"

"Well it isn't like mortals are much better." Mon observed as they ran through the unguarded gate of The Arena.

The 13th hour broke, the sounds of fighting could be heard even from within the dark stone passages that ran within The Arena. They dodged around gladiators, nagi, and fleeing Cyclopses. There was a form running ahead of them.

The form skidded to a halt turning quickly into a crouched battle stance a blade glinting in the dim light.

"Sam?" Raphael asked, slowing down slightly.

"Raph?" The figure asked straightening.

Samael was in full battle armour Breast plate, shoulder guards, arm guards and he was holding a long sword, its blade as black as obsidian. His usual smile was missing, replaced instead by a grim desperate look.

"You here to fight?" He asked them. They nodded. "Marwolaeth Yn Annwyl is fighting, and losing badly within the center of The Pit. Rhenna are crawling through the passages of The Arena, those small enough to fit anyway."

"Then what are we waiting around here for?" Raphael asked him.

Samael nodded once. "Ready to face oblivion Raphael?" He asked him.

Raphael quirked a smile. "Bring it." He growled.

They turned and began to run in the Direction of The Pit. "Prayed to the Golden Goddess?" Samael asked.

"Hells yes." Raphael said grimly.

"Think She heard you?" Samael asked.

"I hope so." He said miserably as Samael's shape changed. Suddenly he was following the Devil, and not Lucifer. He was following the stereotypical image of the Devil. The red skinned, black haired, bat winged, goat horned, goat legged, fork tailed, Devil. The sound of his cloven hooves echoed off of the stone walls.

Raphael looked at Leonardo in shock. His head shaking slightly indicating he had never really seen the true form of Samael.

They broke through into the brilliant sunlight. It was obscenely bright out. Raphael covered his eyes as he took in the chaos around him. Combination 54 was still in place. The rocks floating in the sky above the arena floor.

Rhenna were ripping and tearing at some of the Reapers that had made it there with Death. Other Reapers were streaming in through the other side entrances. There seemed to be quite a few gods and goddesses battling against the Rhenna as well. Death was locked in combat against a youthful, dark skinned, young man with curly brown hair and light grey wings. Death wasn't a great fighter, but on the other hand, Life didn't seem to be that great either. Death dodged out of the way as Life swung his staff at Death's head. Raphael had a feeling that staff was more powerful than it looked.

Raphael desperately looked through the chaos, trying to find two specific figures. He finally spotted them floating high above the chaos that was happening around them.

Darkness was battling with Light. It was almost like watching two negative images battling each other. Where Darkness had skin as pale as moonlight with feathered wings as black as pitch, Light had skin as dark and rich as black coffee, with wings as white as fresh powdered snow. Where Darkness wore black accented with purple and blue, Light wore the exact same robes and armour but in white, accented with red and orange. Each wore the same headdress, but where Darkness' symbol was the double crescent moon, Light's was a yellow sun. Unlike Darkness however, Light did not wear a visor, instead her glowing white eyes watched Darkness intently. Her ears were uncovered as she took in the sounds of the chaos around her. Their blades struck in a ringing of metal upon metal.

"Hey Sam, if we live through this, you've gotta tell me why you look like the Devil, and I don't mean Lucifer." Raphael said to his friend.

Samael laughed. "That is easy," He said as he began running leaping towards the nearest rock pile to launch himself up onto the floating rocks. "I am much older than Lucifer." He yelled as he hit one floating rock and launched himself to the next, wings stretching out to gain an updraft of wind.

"Are you abominations here as well?" Lucifer's voice asked as Lucifer and Gabriel launched themselves past them. Lucifer and Gabriel were in their true forms, wings stretched wide as they hacked an slashed with flaming swords at the Rhenna.

"Oh goody, Lucifer is here." Raphael growled sarcastically.

"So, what do we do now?" Michelangelo asked looking around wide-eyed at the ongoing battle.

"We help Darkness, but we just keep her alive, we can't have Darkness win either." Leonardo said looking at the two battling figures. Darkness was in pretty bad shape. Her movements were strained, her strikes were not as fast or as strong as they should have been. Her teeth were clenched in pain as blood ran over blueberry coloured lips, trailing down and dripping from her chin. Light was winning.

* * *

Let the battle begin! =) getting sorta close to the end, a few more chapters I think. I hope you are enjoying!


	26. Chapter 26

Chapter 26

Michelangelo dodged to the left as a clawed hand raked past him. He and his brothers scattered as they began battling Rhenna. He growled in frustration as a wolf-like Rhenna pounced on him. He fell back kicking the Rhenna in the gut and launching it over his head. As it stood right now his right arm was nearly useless and his nun-chucks just seemed to piss the Rhenna off more than actually accomplish anything. He leapt out of the way of scythe like claws, rolling and quickly coming to his feet. Another Rhenna hit him from behind. He was crushed flat against the rubble strewn ground. The Rhenna suddenly yipped and the weight on his back vanished. He looked up at Raphael who helped him to his feet.

"Take this Mikey." He said shoving Goddess' bow into his hands. "I know that shoulder of yours is pretty messed up, but the bow seems to work and they need to be killed with bladed weapons, your chucks are just pissin' them off. I'm going to see if I can help Darkness." And with that his brother disappeared into the chaos that surrounded them. He looked at the bow in his hand and desperately looked around for Donatello.

He found him frantically fighting off one of the bigger Reaper-Rhenna. It was at least 10 feet high and built like a tank. Michelangelo pulled back the string of the bow, wincing as agonizing pain blazed through his damaged shoulder. He aimed and fired, hoping the arrow would kill the Rhenna. The arrow struck home the Rhenna dissolving into a dark mist. He looked at the blood now running down the length of his left forearm.

Donatello looked at the mist in shock. Michelangelo began running towards Donatello dodging other fighters and the occasional Rhenna. He watched in horror as His older brother was suddenly hit from behind and knocked to the ground, a Reaper-Rhenna stepping on his back crushing him into the sand. "Donny!" He screamed as he was blind-sided by a falling figure. He and the figure crashed into the ground, Michelangelo lost sight of Donatello.

He tried pulling himself up from underneath the dead weight. The figure groaned and tried to move. He looked into the intensely blue eyes of Gabriel. Gabriel shook himself off and helped him to his feet. Gabriel was badly injured with a great slash running from one shoulder to the other. He clenched his teeth together in pain. "I suppose I am fortunate not to be in two separate pieces." He glanced around him wings stretching out and then he was gone.

Michelangelo scanned the chaos for Donatello again hoping the Rhenna had not crushed his brother to death beneath its foot. Michelangelo caught sight of him again. He was under the Rhenna's hand. Donatello looked as if he were reaching for something. Michelangelo looked again as metal glinted in the sun. Whatever it was that Donatello was reaching for he managed to grab. Arm sweeping through the air, the body of the Rhenna split in two crashing to the ground before disappearing.

He managed to finally make it to Donatello's side. He was breathing heavily but looked none the worse for wear.

"Donny you okay." He asked worriedly.

"Yeah." Donatello said leaning heavily against a staff, a double bladed 7 foot long staff.

"Oh gods Donny is that?" He asked in horror.

"Yeah, Darkness either dropped it, or she threw it at me. Either way, she is only fighting with one weapon now, and she's cut up pretty bad." He said motioning towards the sky with his head.

Darkness took a hit in the arm, her blood arcing through the air.

Donatello suddenly stood up straight. "Duck!" He yelled, swinging the staff over his head dispatching a wolf-Rhenna.

"We've got to find Raph and Leo." Donatello said surveying the carnage of The Pit. There were bloody bodies here and there, but Michelangelo realized that it would be hard to tell how many casualties there actually were, because when the Reapers were killed they disappeared, the same as the Rhenna.

"There's Leo, I think he's with Mon." Michelangelo said as he pointed towards a mound of broken rock.

They ran towards Leonardo and the Reaper that was fighting next to him. Michelangelo shot three more arrows and swore that he couldn't shoot anymore. The strain of the bow's payment coupled with his shoulder was making it impossible for him to pull back the string anymore. He felt light-headed and dizzy. He wondered if he would actually be able to die from blood loss. Donatello managed to wield Darkness' staff and kill five more of the Rhenna before they made it to Leonardo.

Leonardo's blades slashed through a Reaper-Rhenna's legs. It topped to the ground where he promptly dispatched it.

"These things are never ending!" Leonardo growled. "If we could retreat and re-group I would strongly suggest doing it!"

"Retreat was never an option Leo. It was stand, and either fall or survive." Mon said seriously.

"Are you two okay?" Leonardo asked with concern, looking at Michelangelo's bloody arms.

"I don't feel so good." Michelangelo said as he waivered on his feet.

"His body is going to shut down soon." Mon said looking at him. "He won't die, but...it won't be good. He doesn't have anyone who is pouring energy into him to keep his soul from being damaged. If he isn't healed soon, he will end up losing his body and his soul will begin to flicker."

"Ow,ow,ow, cold cold cold." Michelangelo said grabbing at his right shoulder, the one that had been damaged by the Rhenna. He felt coldness seep into his body, like a cold winter wind.

"Darkness." Mon whispered. As they looked at his wounds which had healed. "Be grateful you weren't given a killing blow by the Donmkir blades wielded by Darkness and Light. Those weapons would be able to Destroy you easily. Of course technically so to can the Rhenna's claws if the wound is mortal."

"Can she...?" Leonardo asked in shock.

"Darkness can heal her slaves, but she would have to concentrate on healing him, which means she is dividing her attention, from her fight." She said with worry.

Donatello looked at his staff. "She's still trying to protect us. We aren't helping her, we are hindering her. But why is Darkness...? She is going to get herself killed. She's already at a disadvantage, she..." Donatello's eyes widened.

Leonardo scanned The Pit. "Where's Raph?" He asked with dawning horror.

Desperately they searched for their kimono clad brother. "Oh no, Raph." Donatello said in a terror stricken voice.

Michelangelo followed Donatello's gaze. Darkness and Light were clashing near a chunk of floating rock. Raphael had just finished climbing and now stood behind Light poised to strike at her unprotected back.

Dread crawled down his back as the image of Raphael being cut down by the demon Syna ripped through his mind.

Although he knew what he was seeing was not in slow motion it seemed as if time had begun to slow. Light struck at Darkness' weapon, Darkness blocked, straining against Light's strength. Light and Darkness' weapons were bladed on each end which meant either side could be used. Raphael leapt sais arcing down. Light without even turning used one blade to block Darkness while pulling the other blade away and swinging it in a swift movement straight back.

"No!" They screamed in unison.

Time stopped as the blade tore through black clothing and flesh. Raphael's arms hung lifelessly at his sides, sais falling from limp hands.

Light's blade had run straight through the body of Darkness, who had somehow managed, in the time it had taken Michelangelo to blink, to get between the blow and Raphael. Raphael however was too close to Darkness, the strike having gone straight through her back and out her front right into his chest.

Light pulled the blade from their bodies. Darkness' arms and wings went around Raphael obstructing him from sight as they fell through the air in a jumble of black robes and feathered wings. Darkness hit the ground with enough force to shake the very foundations of The Pit. The entire Arena was silent, all of the participants had stopped fighting and looked in horror as Light descended upon the broken figure of Darkness.

Raphael's crumpled, ice covered body lay motionless a few feet away.

They ran towards their fallen brother and Darkness, knowing that they would never make it in time to save her, or their brother.

Darkness did not move. Michelangelo didn't see how it could be possible for her to still be alive. She was a bloody mess. She lay motionless within her blood spattered crater. Bile rose in Michelangelo's throat. He still wasn't very good with blood. He didn't like it when what was supposed to be on the inside of someone's body, made it to the outside.

They managed to stumble to the ice covered form of their prone brother. Ice covered his chest and arms. Darkness had taken the entire impact of their fall. Donatello reached out and tried to find a pulse. He closed his eyes in relief. "He's still alive. But I can't tell how bad his injury is." Donatello said to them. The ice began to melt in the heat of the double suns. They looked towards where Darkness had fallen.

Death appeared beside the crater. He looked as if he had begun to fade. Michelangelo looked at Death with horror as he looked at Mon who nearly transparent.

"Mon!" He said in horror.

She looked terrified and wretchedly despondent. "Light has won." She whispered in a barely audible voice.

"No! It doesn't get to end this way!" Leonardo yelled, getting to his feet as Light appeared at the edge of the crater followed by Life.

Light looked at Leonardo, she raised her hand towards him. Leonardo took a step back. Darkness grabbed Light's arm, wrenching it behind Light's back.

Darkness held Light tightly against her. Darkness was barely able to stand, let alone hold Light for long. Death and his Reapers had already begun to fade which meant Darkness was dying. Michelangelo had no idea what Darkness had planned, but they couldn't let Darkness kill Light either.

A thought, no, a need, a desire for something ripped through Michelangelo's head like sharp knife. He collapsed to his knees and fell to the ground screaming. All around him anyone who was still in The Pit fell, Rhenna, Reapers, gods, and demons. Darkness and Light stood locked together, while Death and Life vanished.

Images began flashing through his mind at an incredibly rapid and almost painful rate. His mind felt like it was on fire, but he was occasionally able to catch an image here and there.

A small dark haired girl sat in a thicket of bushes. It was full dark, and she was alone. She was looking at her hands, she opened them slowly a green light floating up as she smiled in delight watching the firefly dance away. The scene shifted to the moon reflecting upon a calm still lake. Again and again the images shifted. A hot summer day with laughing children gathering in the shade of a tree, a dark skinned girl with moss green eyes making shapes with her shadow. A sunset painting the sky with purples, pinks and blush orange. There didn't seem to be any particular pattern or order in time. In some images the participants were dressed in old fashioned clothing, sometimes, little to no clothing, other times the clothing was more modern.

Then the darker days began, unhappy rain drenched days filled with despair as loved ones stood around a small coffin. There was despair and sadness and grief, but under those emotions there was support, love, and understanding. An old man patting a child's hand, moss green eyes lit with love as she kissed the old man's cheek. He sighed, closing his eyes peacefully as he reflected on his life, the joys, the sorrows, and the understanding of having lived as fully as he could, drifting peacefully into death. More and more images flashed though his head as he finally realized Darkness was trying to make Light understand Darkness and Death. That darkness was needed as much as death. The images shattered and broke. Michelangelo opened his eyes and watched as Darkness fell to her knees. Light turned looking at Darkness. She raised her weapon to strike Darkness down.

"Darkness!" Raphael managed to scream. "Don't you dare touch her Light. Don't even think about it!" Michelangelo looked in surprise at his brother who had managed to regain consciousness. He was shivering from cold and his chest was bloody mess where Light's blade had hit and penetrated through hard shell. Raphael was holding his hand to his bloody chest, trying to stop the bleeding.

Raphael managed to stagger to his feet. Michelangelo managed to pull himself upright. His brain felt two sizes too big for his head. Donatello stood using Darkness' weapon for support. Leonardo shakily got to his feet clutching a faded and unresponsive Mon in his arms.

Light looked around at the destruction of the Arena. Her eyes swept over them stopping on Raphael. Light raised her weapon and pointed at him.

"Don't you dare." Leonardo growled.

She waited, as if expecting something. Donatello's eyes widened in understanding. "If death is okay, why can't she just kill him? That is what she is asking." Donatello turned to Light. "Death...having someone you love die, is...its hard and it hurts and no one wants the people they love to die. That isn't the point, the point is, death isn't wanted, but it is needed. It is what...it is what makes us mortal. Without the inevitability of death, we would wind up...like them," He motioned to the few gods and goddesses that remained. "Like you. We would have no understanding how important those we love are, because we would never lose them. Life is about living your life to the fullest every possible day, and loving those you love with everything you have, because you never know when they might be taken away from you." Donatello said looking at Raphael , his gaze then swept over Michelangelo and Leonardo. "That is why death is important, because without death, life has no meaning." He said softly.

Michelangelo looked at Light. Would Light be able to understand? And even if she did, was it too late for Darkness? Had Light already struck the killing blow?

Light studied them intently then sheathed her bladed weapons. The Rhenna vanished, in their places, the crumpled forms of various Reapers and blue glowing spheres of the souls of the stolen mortals.

Light reached down and helped Darkness to her feet. Darkness swayed and clutched at Light. Light reached out and touched Darkness' face lovingly stroking her hand across her cheek. Then she leaned forward and kissed her.

Michelangelo blinked in shock, his mouth falling open. "Ummm...I was not expecting that." He said, his brain stalling as Light licked the blood from her lips as she drew back from Darkness.

Darkness began to heal. Her blood began to disappear from her body, wounds were closing up and healing. Darkness was finally able to stand on her own.

Night began to fall over The Arena, two crescent moons hung in the sky, stars began twinkling, lending what little light they could to the evening sky.

Michelangelo doubled over as a wave of nausea hit. He looked down at the cold stone floor of Death's living room.


	27. Chapter 27

Chapter 27

Raphael got shakily to his feet, agonizing pain was running through where Light's blade had struck him in the chest. Luckily for him, it hadn't penetrated too deeply into his flesh, the blade having mostly caught on his shell. It had still hurt, the pain had been paralyzing, but he figured he'd live. Raphael looked around Death's living room. Leonardo was helping Mon stand. Michelangelo and Donatello were already standing. Death and Life were nowhere to be seen, but Darkness and Light stood at the far end of the room. Darkness held out her arm and the light that had been streaming in through the window vanished.

Darkness was setting everything back to the way it should be. Light and Dark were no longer fighting, which meant...which meant...Goddess was gone. He closed his eyes in despair as his legs buckled and he fell to the ground. Donatello managed to catch him and drag him upright. He watched as Light vanished, and Darkness turned to do the same.

"Don't you dare!" He said in a deadly low voice. "I know you can't understand a damn thing I am saying, but I know it's you in there. I know it's you because those were not Darkness' memories. Those were yours. Darkness can't see, Darkness can't feel, or hear or touch or smell or understand what life is, what it means. Only you would be able...only you would try to make Light _understand_. All Darkness knew was death and the dark, but you knew life and light." He threw off Donatello's arm stalking towards Darkness.

"Raph no!" Donatello yelled at him.

Raphael reached out to grab her as she continued to turn away from him.

'Raph don't, you don't know what you're doing. Her consciousness may be in there, but you don't know how much of it is there, or how much of it has been intertwined with Darkness." Donatello pleaded with him. "You don't know the consequences that will happen if you bring her back!" But, Donatello's warnings fell on deaf ears.

"I know you're in there Katherine!" He shouted at her. He grabbed her arm, cold began leaching its way up his hand. "I won't let you go, I won't let you just disappear on me, on any of us!"

Darkness pulled her arm away from his cold, frost covered hand. She stumbled back teeth clenched as if in pain. She clutched at her head shouting out a silent scream of agony. Her arms wrapped around herself as her whole body began to shiver with cold.

Donatello grabbed at him pulling him back and holding him tightly as Darkness hit the wall and slid down. Frost began to form beneath her, as the temperature in the room began dropping rapidly.

"Donny let me go!" Raphael shouted at him as he tried to run to her."Something's wrong." He whispered

Death appeared in front of Darkness. He lifted her into his arms. Holding her thrashing pain wracked body securely. Death silently looked at them, and tightly closed his grey wings obstructing them both from view.

"What did you do Raph?" Michelangelo accused him, silent agony rolling through his eyes.

"He brought Katherine back." Donatello said softly. "But he brought her back into a body that was not her own. You brought her into a body created by Darkness. Darkness cannot hear, see, touch, smell, taste, she has no ability to 'feel' anything in every sense of the word! You called her into a frozen icy prison of a body Raphael!" Donatello yelled accusingly his voice breaking with horror.

Raphael looked at where Death stood and the full horror of what he had done to her sunk in as Donatello let him go. Even if he had brought her back it wouldn't matter, she would be as Darkness was, she would _be_ Darkness. "Her soul." Raphael whispered.

Death opened his wings. Darkness stood within Death's arms. Her head was tipped slightly upwards as if she were looking at Death. An arm lay atop Death's arm that was possessively encircling her belly, her other hand was touching Death's cheek bone. She looked at them. Her lips were no longer blue, but light pink, and the white double crescent moon that had been emblazoned upon her headdress now bore an eight-sided star, the two symbols inter-twined. "You brought her back." Donatello said grimly.

"What about her soul?" Michelangelo whispered in horror.

Raphael closed his eyes. "She is Darkness now, just as she was the goddess of magic before. Even if she has all of her memories, they have all probably been buried, like what happened when she became Andora. She died in Hell. Our goddess died in Hell that day and her soul, it...it was wiped clean automatically. Even if she does manage to remember who we are, we will just be distant memories, men she loved in another life. Like Lucifer and Gabriel." He closed his eyes in despair.

"But she was protecting us." Michelangelo said shaking his head in denial.

"There may have been a tiny part of her consciousness, or even her subconscious that knew us, but...Raph is right." Donatello said softly.

"I did exactly what Daemon did." Raphael said despondently. "I brought her back, even though she didn't want to be brought back. I let my selfish need for her blind me to what she wanted and now..."

Raphael heard the sound of metal hitting the floor. He looked at his brothers in shock as their collars began falling to the floor one by one. The brands on his brother's shoulders disappeared.

"You're free."Mon said in shock. "She...she's freed you." She looked at Darkness in surprise. Mon's eyes widened. She was looking at their chests.

Raphael looked down at his chest. There was a tiny two dimensional shadow of dragon circling its tail. "She's making you Ouroboros again. You can go to your place of rest." Mon said with awe. "I didn't think there was any way to become Ouroboros again." Mon grabbed and pulled a phone from within her robes. "She's freeing all of the slaves Heterion stole, and she is making them Ouroboros as well.

Raphael looked at the dragon with horror. "No!" He yelled grabbing at the shadowy dragon trying to eat its tail. "I refuse." He said through clenched teeth.

"Raph." Leonardo tried placing a hand on his shoulder. He flinched away.

"I did this Leo. I can't just walk away." He said gesturing towards Darkness.

"So what do you plan to do Raph? Suffer like Daemon did. Thousands of years of suffering because he brought Katherine back against her will!" Leonardo asked incredulous.

"If that is what it takes then yes." He said solemnly. "I have never had to pay for my actions, for my selfishness, now, I think it's time."

"But Raph," Michelangelo began.

"No buts Mikey." He knelt down in front of Darkness, head bowed. "I do not want to become Ouroboros. I will serve you, in whatever capacity you choose, " He swallowed, "For all eternity." He forced the words out.

He looked at Darkness from under hooded lids. No emotion crossed her face and Darkness remained silent. He closed his eyes. She would forever remain silent, blind, deaf, and unable to have any touch her. The one thing she had always needed, the gentle touch of another person, and he had stripped it away from her, for all eternity. Slavery to Darkness for all eternity wasn't even close to the punishment he deserved for what he had done to her.

"I know you can't hear me." He whispered. "And, you might not even remember me." His voice broke on the last word. "But I wanted you to know, that I have regretted," He swallowed and continued. "Regretted never telling you how much I loved you, and let you know how much I still love you. I don't care if it was because you granted our wish to have someone to love, I know that what I feel...is...is real." He had to quickly dash the tears from his eyes.

Michelangelo fell to one knee beside him, head bowed. "Mikey what are you...?"

He asked in surprise.

"I'm not going to let my little brother stay out of the Underworld all by himself." Michelangelo said with a smile tinged with sadness.

"Mikey I can't let you...what do you mean little brother?" Raphael said, eyes narrowing slightly.

"Well I mean, it only stands to reason, you are still 25, I'm 32 so you are my little brother." He gave a wide grin.

Raphael looked at Michelangelo in shock. "No it doesn't...oh hells no!"

Donatello kneeled down on Raphael's other side. "Guess that makes me big brother then." He said softly.

"This is my fault, you guys don't need to..." Raphael pleaded. "I chose this, none of the rest of you did, you were forced..."

Leonardo kneeled down beside Donatello. "We're not letting you face this alone Raphael."

All four of them knelt before Darkness. The dragons disappeared from their chests.

"I am Darkness." She whispered. "I was born in darkness and to darkness I returned."

Raphael looked at her shock. She spoke, but...she was Darkness. He clenched his teeth together and closed his eyes tightly in despair.

"I lay in darkness for an eternity, but a voice reached out and began to call. Other voices joined in. Needs, wants, desires rang out through the darkness. I know life, I remember life. Darkness and Light are not supposed to know each other, they are not supposed to understand, but now, we do." She paused and began again as if talking were difficult.

"Why did you call me back?" She asked him.

He looked into a face that showed no emotion, no recognition, nothing that indicated in any way that she either remembered him, or felt anything for him. He bowed his head and closed his eyes in pain. "Because I'm a selfish bastard. I don't care what you want. I couldn't let you go. I don't care what you think of me now. I couldn't let you go because I love you too much to watch you just give up and fade away."

Mon squeaked. They looked at Mon who was looking at wide-eyed at Darkness.

They raised their heads and looked at Darkness who had pulled herself from Death's embrace. She placed her hands on each side of her headdress and began pulling it from her head. Hair made of shadow drifted slowly out of the confines of the headdress. Her hair began solidifying, becoming real. It was black like obsidian and fell in luxurious waves down to her waist. Her black kitty cat ears raised themselves out of her hair. Black tiger-like stripes were revealed across her chin and lower cheeks. She stretched out black feathered wings and tucked them in close.

Darkness opened her eyes revealing the universe from within their depths. She blinked and when she opened her eyes they were moss green. Those moss green eyes looked at him, burrowing into his very soul and he felt shame well up inside him. Shame and guilt that he knew would not fade, ever. It hurt too much to look into those moss green eyes and not have them looking back at him with love. He turned his head away so he would not have to look at her.

"I see that even in death, you are still as reckless, stubborn and self centered as you were in life, Raphael." Darkness said softly.

His head whipped up to look at her fast enough to give himself whiplash. "Goddess?" He asked in a hopeful voice. But she was already shaking her head. His hope died a swift and painful death.

"I am Darkness Raphael." She said without emotion. "But you are wrong you know. My soul, it was not reset in Hell. My memories were not wiped clean, because the goddesses who had always done so, no longer rode my soul." Her eyes looked at them intensely. "I think that I am as I ever was, perhaps I have changed, but, I still remember you, Raphael, Donatello, Michelangelo, and Leonardo. I still remember and still love you all." She said with a soft loving smile that lit her eyes. "But I will have to reject your offers. I cannot have you kneeling at my feet, unless of course you are planning to ask my hand in marriage, then I suppose you can stay where you are." She said with a devious grin.

His mouth dropped open and he looked at her in shock. She began laughing. The sound bounced and rolled off his skin from the pure joy of it. Relief and joy and happiness rolled through him. He glanced at his brothers who were all looking at her with shock, elation and happiness.

Death walked behind Goddess and wrapped her in a tight possessive embrace, her laughter was silenced as darkness flooded back into her eyes.

Raphael and his brothers slowly rose. "What do you think you are doing, let her go!" Raphael yelled at him.

Goddess looked at him, but it wasn't Goddess who looked at him, it was Darkness. Her arms went up and around Death's neck. Her eyes closed in contentment at being in Death's embrace.

"Maybe Darkness is still fighting her for control." Donatello whispered.

Darkness caressed the side of Death's cheek. Leaning back and kissing his cheekbone lightly.

_One day, I will regret this _Death said to her.

"One day, but not today." She said softly as the Darkness slowly receded from her eyes. Death let her go, but she did not step away. She looked at them seriously. "Death is mine." She whispered. "He is to me as Life is to Light. We are one and the same, the same part of the same whole. Death must always be a part of my existence."

"I ain't sharin you with Death, you can just forget that!" Raphael yelled at her.

She shook her head. "You do not have a choice."

Donatello touched his shoulder and he flinched away. "Raph, it's not what you're thinking." He motioned to Mon who had been watching the proceedings with wide excited eyes. "Mon is a Reaper, but she is really just an extension of Death's will." He pointed to Death. "So now Death is an extension of Darkness' will. But their relationship is different because Death cares for her, insomuch as a being such as Death can care for anyone."

"What is that supposed to mean?" Raphael growled.

"It means that one day, Death will realize that he is in love with her, and he will regret letting her go, but for now, he doesn't understand love."

_Yes_

"Yes." Darkness and Death said together.

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almost done!=) please read and reveiw!


	28. Chapter 28

Alrighty getting close to the end! Hope you all have enjoyed, and I guess I kinda lie cause I thought this one would be shorter than with Death We Met, but I guess not...=S

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Chapter 28

Goddess stepped away from Death.

"Are you really back Goddess?" Michelangelo asked softly.

Raphael looked at his older younger brother, and grimaced.

"Other Darkness decided to fight and Destroy Light. The moment other Darkness made this decision I rose against It. Other Darkness was gravely injured by a Rhenna. Other Darkness had never known fear, pain, rage or hate, but in the moment other Darkness learned them. It wanted the death of Light, so It would no longer _feel_. I never influenced any of other Darkness' actions, nor did I know what has been going on these past seven years. It was not I who saved you, it was other Darkness, because It was beginning to become me."

"I did not destroy Darkness; I have not imprisoned It; Darkness does not sleep within me. I am Darkness because Darkness was slowly becoming me, and I It. We were never separate. I overtook Darkness' will and It became me and I became It."

"And you were just going to walk away?" Raphael growled out in hurt anger.

"Just because I was aware, did not mean I remembered Raphael. I AM Darkness, and so I was going to return to what I was. YOU called me back. You all did. Was I Darkness or was I Katherine, am I both, am I neither? You try separating out who you were, and who you are, from a billion different thoughts and memories and see how well you do." She said crossing her arms. "Besides there was a reason I had to walk out that door over a thousand years ago, that had nothing to do with the war in Hell. You know this and I know this. I may not have to preserve any inner balance anymore, but I still will not choose one over any of the others, my feelings about that have not changed, have yours?" She asked him. "I am very well aware that neither you nor Leonardo would have shared. Besides, you lived on Earth for, I am assuming, a particular amount of time. How am I to know that another did not replace me in your hearts?"

Raphael opened his mouth. What could he say? He had had to ask Leonardo the same question. How could he expect her to know that none of them had. He looked at her and realized that it was all good and fine to say he would share, but when faced with the actual reality, would he, could he?

Michelangelo strode over to Goddess and touched her cheek gently. "Is it really you?" He whispered looking into her eyes searchingly.

She tipped her head slightly into his hand."It's me Michelangelo." She whispered.

"I think you have touched her quite enough." A voice came from behind them.

They turned in shock to see the figures of Lucifer and Gabriel standing near the elevator. They had all been so engrossed in what was going on , none of them had even heard the doors ding.

Lucifer was in his human form while Gabriel was in his true form. Gabriel's wounds had healed, but he was still looking a little worse for wear.

Goddess' face broke into a smile as she looked at them. Raphael realized that she knew exactly where she stood with them, but she was not making any outward signs one way or another towards him or his brothers until they told her what they wanted.

"Hello Lucy, hello Gabe. I'm glad you are both okay." She said as Lucifer walked up and bowed over her hand. Michelangelo had stepped out of the way, a suspicious look on his face. The moment Lucifer touched her hand his form flashed and changed to his true form.

Lucifer looked at himself in shock. "Kaethryn, it really is you." He said in surprise as he reached out and stroked her face.

"Hey devil boy, hands off." Raphael growled in anger as jealousy burned through him.

Lucifer took a step back allowing Gabriel to step into her open arms. She hugged Gabriel close. "I was worried about your injuries Gabe." She said as he stepped away.

"I healed." He said with a smile.

She nodded and turned her attention back to Lucifer tipping her head to the side in thought. She smiled a lopsided smile. 'So you figured out where I was as well did you?" She questioned.

"It took a while and unfortunately your interest in these abom..." Her eyebrow rose. "...Absolutely adorable turtles, got me thinking. It also helped when your mark was transferred from one brother to another. The only one who could remove that mark would have been the one who placed it upon him in the first place."

She nodded her head. "True, but it was not me who removed the mark, it was other Darkness. It would have been able to remove the mark because It was using my soul. I killed Heterion and removed the Working from the Castle. As soon as other Darkness realized that It feared me, I was able to overtake It and we became one." She said with a shrug.

"So I will assume that it is now you who has taken up the mantel of Marwolaeth Yn Annwyl?" Lucifer asked innocently.

Goddess looked at Lucifer and her smile widened. "Why yes, I do believe I must. Therefore I suppose I am responsible for any and all debts she incurred. I shall do any and everything within my power to clear any debt owed to you Lucifer."

Raphael felt himself pale. He looked at Donatello who was looking grim. Leonardo stood a few paces away, arms crossed, turned slightly to the left. He was looking grim and pale as well.

"Then I believe I shall take this opportunity to collect on my debt." Lucifer said with a wide engaging smile.

Goddess smiled at Lucifer, her eyes twinkling.

"Why isn't she worried, shouldn't she be worried?" Michelangelo asked worriedly.

"To clear your debt you must come to Hell and finish what was left unfinished over a thousand years ago." He said to her.

Goddess lost her smile. "Are you positive you wish to use your debt for such a thing as that?" She asked seriously.

"What was begun over a thousand years ago?" Michelangelo asked anxiously.

Raphael shook his head. "I know that Lucifer and her were betrothed at one point over a thousand years ago." He whispered back bleakly.

"Yes I am." Lucifer said all traces of a smile having left his face.

Goddess nodded. "So it is agreed, so shall it be."

"No Goddess please." Raphael said in panic.

"I have agreed to the terms Raphael." She said to him.

"Why Lucy?" She asked Lucifer searchingly.

"Because I could never be indebted to you." He said softly.

Goddess quirked a smile, "Then as soon as things are settled here, I shall see you in Hell. Private chambers?" Her smile deepened a twinkle appearing in her eyes.

Lucifer nodded and bowed. "I look forward to it."

"Goodbye Kaethryn, we shall see you soon." Gabriel said reaching out and kissing the palm of Goddess' hand.

"I'll see you soon Gabe, I'll be there with bells on." She said dryly.

Lucifer rolled his eyes and Gabriel burst out laughing as they walked around the corner to where the elevator was.

"Don't look at me like that. Lucifer wants me to go to Hell and finish the chess game we started during the war."

"But how can you even know that!" Raphael asked angrily.

"Because I know Lucifer," She held up her hand when he opened his mouth to continue. "And a marriage debt must be laid out and agreed upon before the debt is incurred. And before you have an aneurism, his private chambers are not his bedroom, but rather his study. I know where I stand with Lucifer, and he knows where I stand with him. The question is, where do I stand with..."

Samael in his human form walked around the corner where the elevators were located.

"Sam?" Raphael said to Samael in shock. "But, I didn't think you could get out of The Pit."

Samael smiled at him. "I never said I could not leave The Pit Raphael. I said I could not pay a debt so I was sent to The Pit to oversee the 'entertainment'.

He looked from Raphael to Goddess. "Hello Azazel." She said with a smile.

Samael walked over and knelt at her feet. "My Golden Goddess." Samael whispered.

"Azazel was the demon who placed the Binding on you." Donatello said in shock.

"Yes." Both Goddess and Azazel said in unison.

Raphael looked at Samael in shock and anger. "You lied to me?" He said in a deadly low voice.

Azazel looked over his shoulder at him. "I never lied to you Raphael. I never told you my real name because a demon never gives a mortal his real name. If a mortal has a demon's real name, they have the ability to control and summon him or her as the case may be. Every other thing I told you was nothing but the truth."

"So who do you owe your debt to?" Raphael growled.

"I told you, I owe the Golden Goddess my life, I owe her a blood debt. Lucifer was going to kill me when he finally managed to track me down. She stepped in and told Lucifer that I was only following his orders and that I did not know the orders had actually come from K'emeth. So he could not execute me for being loyal to him." Azazel said to him.

"You tried to kill her! He tried to kill you and you saved his life!" Raphael shouted at her incredulous.

Goddess sighed. "Raphael, what would you do if your Prince told you to kill the woman who killed thousands of your brothers and sisters in one single terrifying sweep of her hand? Would you not want revenge?" Raphael's mouth opened to reply but no words came out. "Azazel was one of the few old testament demons to actually survive my first trip to Hell."

Azazel nodded. "We feared her, we all did, and we all wished for her death, and if not her death, we wished for her to become our Queen." Azazel smiled. "Hell was never really an adaptable place, but it's gotten better, thanks to her, and she saved all of my traitorous brothers and sisters by giving them a second chance. She didn't Destroy them, she made them...more." He said simply. "She made their souls stronger, more like a human soul. She was the one responsible for the demons able to be born in Hell, rather than just created."

"I don't get it, how'd you end up in The Pit then?" Raphael asked, trying to get his temper under control.

Azazel looked to Goddess' lopsided grin. "Oh I don't know, I may have mentioned a certain hot-headed lover who might rashly and stupidly decide to avenge my death."

"The ability to become Exo-Ouroboros has always existed, but the Pit was created after her death, so I knew that you would show up there eventually if you chose to become Exo-Outroboros, and if you didn't show up," He shrugged. "Then you didn't show up. It got me out of Hell for a thousand years."

He looked at Goddess and rubbed his eyes. He had forgotten how frustrating it was to be around her. She was always one step ahead of him, hells she was probably ten steps ahead of him.

"So I suppose it is you I have to thank for the constant barrage of voices calling out to me." She said to him.

Azazel shrugged. "I thought maybe you might hear Raph. I had hoped that perhaps his voice would be able to call you back from the darkness."

"It was very hard to rest when someone keeps constantly talking to you." She said with a wry smile. "But yes," She looked at Raphael. "I heard him, I heard all of them. If not for them, I do not think I would have had the strength or the sheer force of will needed to overpower the will of other Darkness."

"So you knew?" Raphael asked angrily. "You knew she was still alive!" Raphael yelled betrayal still running hotly through him.

Azazel shook his head. "I only knew what everyone else knew, but I did see what had consumed my brothers and sisters, consume her as well. Then demons were beginning to be born, and I began to wonder if these born demons were not the result of having been consumed to be reborn like a human soul. If this were true then perhaps what consumed The Golden Goddess, still held her. I was not sure of Marwolaeth Yn Annwyl, until she stood to claim you. I was only certain when she removed The Golden Goddess' mark and gave it to Leonardo."

"So why didn't you tell me?" Raphael asked hurt leaking into his voice.

"Because I did not want to give you false hope." He said. "You may not believe it anymore, but you are my friend Raphael."

"Is that why you were so upset about the letters?" Raphael asked him.

Azazel let out a breath.

"What letters?" Michelangelo asked curiously.

"Raph received... " Azazel began.

"It was nothing." Raphael cut him off embarrassed and not wanting Goddess to know.

"So the gods and goddesses propositioned you Raphael?" Goddess asked him. He felt himself blush. He studied her face trying to figure out what emotion was playing across her features, but he couldn't tell.

"Propositioned?" Michelangelo asked. "Wait you mean a bunch of goddesses wanted you to..."

"Become their lover, yes." Goddess said finishing Michelangelo's thought.

Heat flooded through his face.

"I didn't even read them!" He said defensively. "I didn't want them! I only wanted..." He looked at Goddess straight in the eye, "I only ever wanted you." He finished softly.

"But goddesses Raph!" Michelangelo grinned devilishly. "Look at you being a play-yah"

"Shut it Mikey." Raphael grumbled.

Goddess turned her attention back to Azazel. "What is it you wish Azazel? You know I have never counted that blood debt as a true debt, and I thank you with all my heart, for looking after Raphael. Are you sure you do not wish for the Nightmare godhede?"

Azazel shook his head. "You know what I wish." He said softly.

"Does Lucifer know?" She asked.

"All preparations have been taken care of."

"Then let it be so." She said as Azazel's form changed. He was stripped of his human appearance, his true form revealed and then altered. His skin turned a dark grey, his horns elongated, twisted and became black. His black hair grew longer, flowing down his back until it reached his waist. His goat legs were transformed into those of a dragon, his devil tail changing into a more serpentine form. His features changed from the harsh, sharp features associated with the stereotypical devil, to softer, more pleasing ones. He ruffled his black membranous wings.

"Umm..what just happened?" Michelangelo asked.

Azazel continued to kneel. "What is it you wish of me, My Lady Darkness?" He asked her.

"Find out for me what is being said within Darkrealm about the battle between myself and Light. We will update Marwolaeth Yn Annwyl's page depending upon what is being said. Report back to me in the morning."

Azazel stood and bowed. "As you wish, My Lady Darkness" He walked past them, but stopped and looked at Raphael. "I am your friend, Raph."

"Sam wait." Raphael said as Azazel turned away. "Can I still call you Sam?" He asked.

Azazel nodded, gave a half smile and walked to the elevator to do Goddess' bidding.

"He switched allegiance from Lucifer to myself. Usually not an easy thing to do, but Lucifer freed him, so he was able to become one of mine." Goddess said with a smile and continued softly. "I think it is time to go home, before we have any other unexpected...guests." She said wryly. She looked at Death and nodded her head, then she nodded at Mon. "Help Azazel with his task Mon."

Mon numbly nodded her head.

"Wait, where's home?" Michelangelo asked.

Raphael eyes widened in realization. "No not..." Nausea rolled through him as he found himself kneeling in the sub-basement of the castle. "Here." He finished.


	29. Chapter 29

Chapter 29

Donatello shook off the nausea and slowly got to his feet. He didn't blame Raphael one bit for not wanting to come back to this place. He was even less excited about the prospect.

Goddess walked to the center of the room and stood before the pit of blood. "Castellum." She called. The figure of the red haired young man rose out of the blood. "They have tried to break your power I see, well, we shall get it back." She said to the Castle. "For now," She spread her arms wide, the blood in the pit rolling out and filling the etched markings with blood. The markings began to glow red. Goddess took off a gauntlet and used the claws to slice open her palm. Her hair began to whip around as Donatello felt magic begin to flow across his skin.

"Blood to bind the heart and the soul, blood to protect those you love." She whispered softly. She placed her hand palm down in the center of the pit, the room flashed and Donatello closed his eyes tightly against the brightness. He opened his eyes and saw that a double crescent moon had been engraved into the floor. "I have re-bound the Castle. My will is again Its will." She grimaced. "And the Castle is a mess."

She strode towards the stairs and they followed her silently up the short set of stairs to the basement level.

They hit the first zombie a few feet down the tunnel. It stood looking at them with malicious hungry eyes. Its flesh was putrid and had begun dripping fluids onto the floor. When Heterion had dragged both Michelangelo and himself into the subbasement they hadn't encountered anything, but they had heard the terrified screams of the other prisoners. Now Donatello knew why they were screaming in terror. They all stopped and took a step back while Goddess strode towards it in a flurry of capes and bells.

"Yes, I'm back. It is time for you to rest again." She said gently. The zombie's features relaxed as it turned and shuffled back down the hallway.

"That was a little disturbing." Michelangelo observed.

"Yeah, well you should have seen us fighting through those things trying to save you, not fun." Raphael grumbled.

"They only obey the orders of the Castle and myself. They are here to protect and keep safe not only the Castle, but those who reside within its walls." Goddess said as they wound their way through the dimly lit tunnels until they reached the stairs that led to the main level.

"Okay stop." Raphael said as he grabbed Goddess by the arm pulling her to a halt. "I've walked through this place and it is the most disturbing, horror show of a place I have ever seen. I don't get it, how could you live here? There are chambers of blood, chambers of bones, that torture chamber and zombies in the basement. I don't get it. I don't understand. There is nothing of you in this place!"

She looked at him in surprise then tipped her head to the side in thought. She then walked over to one of the giant stone dragons and touched it's foot. "The Castle was built and corrupted a long time ago. Blood, death, pain and suffering, that was all the Castle knew, but it did not mean it was all the Castle _could_ know. Castellum is different than It was. But It will protect Itself if need be." She threw out her arms and souls exploded from the floor in a swirling of blue shimmering light. "I'll have Death pick these up in the morning." She said as she turned towards the staircase in the center of the room.

"Are these all of the souls the Castle consumed?" Leonardo asked softly. Donatello blinked and realized it was the first time Leonardo has spoke since Goddess came back to herself. He looked at his brother who had been oddly quiet. He was looking at the souls with shock.

"Yes." She said as her foot touched the first stair."You are wondering why this place remains a place of torture and torment, are you not Raphael?" She began to climb as they followed.

"Something like that. I mean there is nothing of you in here. Not a single thing except that stupid password on your bedroom door." Raphael said to her.

"That is only because you did not look hard enough Raphael. As for keeping all of the horrible rooms in this place intact, I left everything as it was, as a reminder of what was done in this place. Creatures died, horribly, in here. I always thought it would cheapen the horror of their deaths by trying to pretend they did not happen." She said softly as they reached the upper level. "My library looked empty because you did not enter the inner sanctum. Through the fireplace is a secret chamber where I did most of my reading." They turned right, exiting the central tower and making their way along an open air walkway to a set of double doors. There was a gargoyle crouched over the doorway. The gargoyle began to move stretching out its large membranous wings. "Gunjin," she looked over her shoulder at another gargoyle that was crouched over the door they had just exited. "Sunter." She said pleasantly.

"Mistress." They said as they returned to stone.

She threw the doors open revealing an entire room made of bones. "Oh goody it's the bone room with that sadistic gate." Raphael grumbled she strode purposefully across the room towards the gate.

Donatello stopped to look at the construction of the room. He knelt down running his hands over the worn surface of the bones cemented into the floor. The bones did not look human. Part of him was horrified. He knew all of these bones had belonged to someone who had died horribly, but the scientist in him was fascinated with the possibility of studying the bones closer.

A hand touched his shoulder and he looked up into Goddess' smiling face. He smiled a self depreciating smile because he knew, she knew, exactly what he had been thinking. And then it hit him all at once. She was here, and she was back. He could touch her again, talk to her again. She had been the only person to ever understand him, and she was right here standing in front of him, and he hadn't even given her the slightest idea one way or the other if it was she and she alone, who he loved.

She was watching him intently as he stood up slowly, as if she had sensed the change in his thoughts. He reached out a hand to touch her face and saw the scars that lined the entirety of his arm. He stopped and was going to pull his arm back as he felt ashamed at what he had done to himself.

He looked into her face which was serious. She was looking at the scarring that covered both of his arms. She looked into his eyes and began searching for something. He didn't know what she was searching for, or if she found it because Raphael interrupted her.

"What are we doing in here?" He yelled from the far end of the room.

Goddess turned and looked at Raphael. "Close the two end skeletons jaws." She said to him as she gave Donatello one last searching look.

"I ain't touching those." Raphael said to her as she neared the skeleton gate. There were four skeletons, intertwined in unnatural positions, all had their jaws hanging open to look as if they were screaming. The skeletons looked human, but they weren't. There were certain anatomical structures within the bones that indicated they weren't human, but close. "Sidhe Fae." Goddess said to him.

Michelangelo closed one jaw and moved to close the other. What Donatello could see behind the gate was nothing but more bones that made up the chamber, but the gate opened revealing a passageway that curved around the outer wall of the castle. Straight ahead however was a set of elevator doors.

"That passage connects to my bedroom. And this," She said as the doors opened and they all filed in. "Goes to where I spent most of my time." There were no buttons inside the elevator. "Security code, Tango-Romeo-Echo-Victor- Oscar-Romeo." She said as the elevator shot up. Goddess took his hand and squeezed it. He looked at her in shock as she smiled softly at him. His stomach flipped over a little and the elevator doors opened revealing a darkened room.

She strode out letting go of his hand. "Magi, security code, Charlie-Hotel-Alpha-Romeo-India-Tango-Yankee. " The space lit up with light. On one wall was a giant computer with holographic screens. There must have been twenty different screens beginning to turn on. On another wall there was a giant theatre sized big screen TV. Shelves were filled with rows upon rows of movies and video games from every gaming system you could think of. There was a couch, coffee table, and a small kitchen. There were a few books strewn here and there, a chess board, blankets, a training area with swords, a heavy bag and practice dummies. Donatello blinked in surprise. "Recalibrate all systems between the parameters of Alpha to Omega."

"Welcome Mistress, recalibrating to desired specifications. Operating system will need to be upgraded to deal with the increase of parameters. Time remaining until complete system recalibration, 12 hours." The computer said to her.

"Nice job Magi." She said as he glanced at the screens. Data was flowing faster than even he could understand.

Michelangelo was looking around in awe. He looked at the computer and almost started to vibrate with excitement. He looked at his brother in shock. He hadn't seen Michelangelo act this way since, well since Goddess had died.

"Is this...?" He asked Goddess in a blissful voice.

She laughed. "Yes, it is my version of Watchtower. It is how I kept an eye on all of the gods to make sure they were not causing trouble."

"But I thought you said your world didn't have access to this kind of tech?" Donatello asked her in awe.

"It doesn't," She smiled deviously. "This is so far beyond what any of the gods on T'lae-ran had access to that they have no idea it exists. Of course they have caught up a little technologically, but most gods are pretty stuck in their ways." She said with a smile.

"But you had problems using my computer at home!" Donatello said incredulous.

"Do you know how long ago it was that I used one of those archaic things. Nearly five thousand years, besides Magi may look like a computer, run like a computer, and talk like a computer, and will be able to access the god-net, but It is really more of a scrying mirror."

"What's a scrying mirror?" He asked.

"It is a way to see things with the use of magic. I can see what the gods have done, are doing and intend to do. I cannot see my own future, and anything that is seen is but one possible outcome to a certain course of events, but I find it helpful none the less."

"So that is why Heterion said you were not prophetic, and yet you always seemed to just _know_ things." Leonardo said to her as he perused through one of the scattered books.

"Something like that. All it takes is a hint of a foreseeable event combined with the knowledge of the god, and I can usually figure out what they are up to, and what they are going to do." She said with a shrug.

"This place is awesome!" Michelangelo said happily.

Donatello blinked at the word 'awesome' which had been out of use for a good ten years before they had died.

Goddess got quiet and stood looking intently at them. Michelangelo's face went serious as he strode over to Goddess. He took her face in his hands and kissed her. He pulled back and looked at her intensely. "I've missed you." He whispered. "I've missed you so much. I love you, I have always loved you." He hugged her close. "I know you won't take me as Consort, and I'm okay with that..." Michelangelo began.

"Would you really be okay with that Michelangelo?" She asked cutting him off.

Michelangelo paused. "No." He growled as he pulled her tighter against him.

"Good." She said.

"Don't worry Mikey, she can have as many Consorts as she wants." Raphael said as he strolled over pushing Michelangelo out of the way. "We just all have to be willing to share." He said as her pulled her in and kissed her. He broke away and looked at her. His eyes were intense and there was anger just below the surface.

"No one said it would be easy Raphael." She said softly touching his face.

"It's easy for you." He growled.

She threw back her head and laughed, her laughter flowing out and brimming with joy and happiness.

"Raphael, I don't think there is anything easy about you, or your brothers."

Michelangelo snickered. "I betcha Raph is pretty easy." He said with a grin.

"Shut it Mikey, this comin' from the guy who had a different girl every other week." Raphael said at him angrily.

Michelangelo lost his smile, and Raphael closed his eyes at his own stupidity of letting his mouth run away with him again. Raphael slowly turned his head back to Goddess.

Donatello found himself striding to the couple and pulling Goddess out of Raphael's embrace. He didn't even think, just acted as he knelt down in front of her. He took her hand and brought it up to the side of his face. She knelt down in front of him. "I love you." He said simply.

"I love you too Donatello." She said softly. They both stood together and they all turned to Leonardo who was standing partially in shadow.

"What do we have to do?" Leonardo asked softly, a slight catch in his voice.

"I have to make you all my Consorts by the time the sun rises. Then the binding and marriage will be complete and it will only be able to be sundered through death, specifically my death." She said seriously. "It will also not be able to be added to either."

She grabbed Donatello and Raphael's hands and strode towards the elevator. "So basically Blood Lust night take two?" Michelangelo asked as the elevator doors closed. A short stomach flip flop later and they were following her through the gate, through the chamber of bones and back into the main chamber on the second floor.

"Something like that." She said as she walked to a door pushing it open, revealing a spacious bedroom. "This is Leonardo's room. Donatello that one is yours, Raphael, the one next to that and Michelangelo, that one." She said as she pointed to each bedroom. "All of your belongings have already been placed in your rooms on your beds." She paused and looked at them. "Now the question is, who will share my bed first?"

Donatello blinked. Of course there would have to be someone that went first. He blushed at the thought.

"Donny." Leonardo said suddenly.

Donatello looked at Leonardo in shock, but his big brother wouldn't meet his eyes, no actually he was the oldest now. He shook his head and shoved that thought aside.

"Fine." Raphael agreed.

Michelangelo shrugged.

"Donatello it is, who is next?" She asked. Donatello almost felt like they were picking contest winners. In first place, the prize goes to...

"Raph." Leonardo said gruffly. "And I'll go last."

Michelangelo shrugged. 'Sure, I'm gonna go back up and watch that gigantic TV. Does that thing play reruns of old TV, shows cause I missed the very last episode of the Amazing Race's 50th Season."

"It will play whatever you wish it to play Michelangelo." Goddess said with a smile. "Castellum disable security code clearance for the elevator." She said to the Castle.

"I'll just go up and hit something." Raphael grumbled as he strode back down the hall with Michelangelo.

"I'm going to go check out the Castle, maybe find the library." Leonardo said with a smile as he turned and walked down the stairs.

Goddess turned her full attention on him. His blush deepened. He shook his head. He shouldn't be blushing, he wasn't twenty anymore, hell he wasn't even _in_ his twenties anymore. She took his hand and led him to a blank wall. She cast an arch look at him. "Open sesame." She said with a smile. The wall slid away revealing a hallway that ended in a set of double doors.

"Castellum, disable the secret door to my bedchambers." She said as she pulled him along the hallway and through the double doors at the end.

As soon as the doors opened all he could see was the large bed that dominated the room. It was bigger than a king, with four massive heavily lacquered black posts. It was decked out in black satin sheets with red and black accent pillows. The doors closed behind him. Goddess walked up the raised dais holding the bed and walked past it to a mirror that ran the length of the bed. Donatello looked up at the ceiling and wondered if there was a mirror over the bed as well. He looked to where Goddess had stood and found that she had disappeared. He looked in confusion around the chamber. Bed, sunken tub on another raised dais. There was nowhere for her to go, but then again this place seemed to be riddled with secret passages.

Goddess emerged from the mirror. She looked at him. "Walk in closet behind the mirror." She said softly. She had gotten rid of all of her armour. Her outer robe was open revealing a blue kimono and black Hakama skirt. Her feet were bare beneath the skirt. Her could see Heterion's butterfly on the kimono's front. She looked at him and he closed his eyes.

"If I touch you, I won't be able to let you go." He said softly.

"I know." She said to him as she walked closer.

She was close enough now that he could smell the scent of white heather rolling off of her. He clenched his hands tightly to his sides. She stepped into him. His arms automatically enfolding her.

She held him close burying her face into his neck. She let out a choked sob. He clutched her tighter. "It wasn't as simple or as easy as you made it sound, was it?" He asked her softly.

She clutched at him tighter. "It was so cold. But all there was, was darkness. I couldn't see, smell, touch, hear. It was just nothingness. And I remember every single moment of it." Her voice cracked. He clutched her tighter. "The only thing that helped me keep my sanity was thinking of all of you, of my love for you all. I didn't think I would ever see you again." Donatello felt a tear run down his neck. "That is why other Darkness saved Raphael and Leonardo, because the more tightly I clung to your memories, the more It was confused by them, the more It didn't know if they were Its own memories or mine." She whispered.

He pulled away from her, fingers brushing away tears that fell like diamonds. He searched her tear stained face. "We'll talk later." He said to her softly. She looked over at his arm. She brought her hand up and ran her fingers over the raised ridges of his scars.

"Yes we will." She murmured.

"He's leaving." He said with a tinge of anger mixed with worry.

"I know." She said looking at the door.

"Can you stop him?" He asked.

"It depends on him. As things stand at the moment, I would give 50-50 odds." She said to him seriously.

"Can you increase the odds of him staying?" He asked her.

She smiled a devious lopsided grin. "I think I may have a few tricks left up my sleeves."

"He doesn't mean it." He said as she reluctantly pulled away from his embrace.

"I know."

"He's being an idiot." He said to her.

Her smile deepened. "Since when is this new?"

He gave a half-hearted chuckle. "Good point."

Her face turned serious. "I will see you back here Donatello."

He nodded at her. "I'll take his place. Good luck." He said as she strode towards the doors. She opened one door very softly and exited the room.


	30. Chapter 30

Alrighty all, chapter 30! Warning, sexual content in this chapter, you have been warned!=) Enjoy and Pls R&R

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Chapter 30

He looked at the bed in front of him. It wasn't like he had that many possessions to take with him. He just had to stop feeling guilty, and just walk out the door. He grabbed up the bag that contained some clothes, his weapons and his memographs. He didn't really know where he was going to go, other than out of here. He had some vague idea that he might make a stop at Death Inc, maybe they had a job opening or something. He could train the Reapers to fight or something. He knew the Rhenna were gone, but you never knew what other kinds of threats they could encounter out there.

He turned and stopped. Goddess was standing at his door, negligently leaning against the frame, arms crossed over her chest. The situation was so familiar it nearly broke his heart and broke his resolve, but then he remembered.

"Going somewhere Leonardo?" She asked curiously. He turned away from her slightly so that he was almost in profile, his good eye looking at her. Scores of answers bounced through his mind, as he studied her face. She was hard to read. At the moment she was projecting nothing but curiosity.

"You're supposed to be with Donny." He said, his voice coming out harsher than intended.

She tipped her head to the side in thought as she took a step into the room. He unconsciously began to take a step back, realized what he had done and stopped. "Perhaps, perhaps not." She said cryptically.

"There is no perhaps about it. You are supposed to be with Donny right now!" He yelled at her. "Are you telling me you just left him?" He asked angrily.

She inclined her head in acknowledgement.

"Do you have any idea what Donny has suffered?" He asked her. "And you are telling me that you just left him without..." He let the sentence hang.

She took another step towards him. "Some, and yes. To answer your questions."

"How could you?" He asked his voice nearly breaking.

She looked at him and shrugged. "I turned and walked through the door. It is the general means of leaving, just as you are trying to do. Do not attempt to distract me Leonardo. I have had millennia of experience in the art of directing a conversation."

"Are you going to stop me?" He growled at her.

"No." She said softly, head downcast looking at the floor, her eyes in shadow. "If you love another Leonardo, all you had to do was say so." She said quietly. Head lowered, a circling dragon appeared in her outstretched hand.

She was giving him the perfect excuse. All he had to do was say yes. He wouldn't take the Ouroboros dragon, but he could say yes and just walk past her and out that door.

So why couldn't he open his mouth and say the words. She wasn't looking at him so he couldn't just nod an agreement.

He licked his suddenly dry lips. "There was a woman, her name was Melanie." He said to her. He was going to lie by telling the truth. She had done it so many times, he knew he could do it.

"I see." She said, head still lowered. Was there hurt in her voice? Were there now tears in her eyes that he could not see because of her lowered face? "You may leave Leonardo." She said softly, stepping slightly to the side, giving him a clear unimpeded route out the door.

Leonardo nodded, realized she couldn't see the movement and instead said. "Fine." He took a step towards the door.

Her hand closed swiftly on the Ouroboros dragon. Her head shot up, eyes glittering with unshed angry tears. "And to think, I never would have thought you a coward Leo."

The barb flew, struck him in the heart, and twisted. Leonardo stopped in shock. He wasn't sure what was worse, the woman he loved calling him a coward, knowing she was right, or having her call him Leo. She had never, not once, ever used his nickname. The nickname that was, to him, so comfortable and so familiar, sounded like the painful crack of a whip coming from her lips. He had never realized just how intimate the sound of his full name, dripping from beautiful, perfect, cupid's bow lips, was.

But that was the problem, she was perfect, in every way. She was so far above him, so far beyond his grasp. He might as well have tried to grasp at the heavens from where she had descended.

He closed his eye, and attempted to wrap his anger around him. "I am no coward." He said to her.

"No?" She questioned. "You tell me the truth, and I will let you walk out that door."

"I did tell you the truth!" he yelled at her.

She smiled a grim smile. "I know you did. But I have played this game a hell of a lot longer than you have Leo, and I am much better at it than you will ever be."

"What do you want me to say!" He yelled at her.

"Tell me you don't love me." She said simply. "Tell me you don't love me; Tell me that you can't share, mean it with all your heart, and I will let you walk away."

He clenched his teeth together. He couldn't do either. He loved her, had always loved her, had never, not even for a single moment, stopped loving her. She _knew_ him, had always known him, even better than he had known himself. She knew him right down to the very deepest depths of his soul.

As for sharing her with his brothers, he could share. He wouldn't like it, but he was willing to try.

"Look at me." He said turning to face her full on.

She took a step forward and began studying his face. "I was never much to look at before, but at least it was my own face that stared back at me in the mirror. Now, now _I_ can't even bear to look at my own face in the mirror. You are so..." His voice broke as he motioned at her. "You should not have to deal with looking at this," He motioned to his face. "Every day for the rest of eternity. And before you say anything, the scars on my face are nothing compared to the left side of my body."

She assessed him, nodded and walked towards the door. "Thank you for the truth Leo. You can go."

He watched her retreating back in shock. He closed his eye. It was what he had expected. She hadn't gasped in horror, so he should be relieved about that. He got what he wanted, she was letting him walk out that door. He clenched his bag tightly, his knuckles turning white. Unexpected anger welled up from within him. "What, that's it?" He growled.

"I'm sorry?" She asked turning around facing him.

"That's it? That's all I get? No pleading for me to stay, to stay for you, to stay for my brothers? No telling me that you love me anyway? No telling me that my scars really aren't that bad?"

She tipped her head to the side. "No, you know I do, and they are. In that order."

She crossed her arms over her chest. His mouth hung open. She blinked at him. "What, would you like the longer form of the answers rather than just the cliff notes?" She asked him.

He wanted to stride from the room. He didn't have to deal with her, she was going to let him walk out that door, so why didn't his feet move? Why couldn't he open his mouth and tell her to beg for him to stay; To tell him that his scars didn't matter; That they were not ruinous.

"I'm not going to tell you to stay for me, or for your brothers because the only person you should stay for is you." She said softly, her voice losing the harsh edge it had acquired. "I love you, plain and simple. I always have, I always will. I have always been attracted to you. From the first moment you swung me up in your arms I knew that I was going to lose my heart to you. And as for your face. Yes it really is that bad. You look like you are trying to give Freddy Kruger a run for his money." She said bluntly.

He blinked at her in shock. Everyone had always told him that his face wasn't that bad, that the scars would get better with time. Of course for him, there was no 'with time' left. He was stuck with what he had for eternity.

He closed his eye, shoulders sagging slightly. He knew if she had told him that his scars weren't that bad, he would have been able to walk out that door. He knew she could have lied to him by twisting the truth somehow, but she hadn't. She had flat out told him his face was a ruined mess, and somehow that felt...good to him.

He gave one last desperate attempt to do the right thing by her and leave. "I feel old." He said softly. He opened his eye and looked at her. She had raised a single eyebrow in shock. "I know I'm not old by your standards, but I feel so old. You are in that beautiful 21 forever body, and here I am, stuck in this ruined 32 year old, wreck of a body. I hurt." He said to her. "My skin hurts, my joints hurt, my muscles hurt, hell even my bones hurt."

"Your body never had the time to heal properly." She said looking at him seriously. "My body may not feel old." She said softly. "But my soul, my soul is tired, so very tired. The only thing keeping it burning," She looked him straight in the eye, "Is you." His bag fell to the ground with a thump. He closed his eye, shoulders sagging in defeat.

"Prove to me you are not a coward." She whispered by his ear.

He opened his eye and looked at her. She was standing by the door, which was now closed. He grabbed the bottom of his silk shirt and pulled it swiftly over his head. No one had seen the damage inflicted upon him by the explosion. Not his brothers, who had only ever seen the bandages, not even Samael, who had been engrossed in looking at his memographs. And yet here he was, showing the absolute ruin his body had become, to the most beautiful woman he had ever seen. He closed his eye. He couldn't bear to see the look of horror or disgust on her face. Melanie had had a hard time touching him when his body had been whole, now...

The smell of white heather drifted gently to him as her felt her come close. She traced the line of his plastron. If he had have been human he would have been dead. He almost had been, instead the flying chunk of foot long metal had hit and sliced through the left side of his carapace, leaving a foot long slice through the hard shell. The spinning hunk of fiery metal had then scored through his flesh leaving a foot wide burn scar right across his side. The metal had then hit his plastron ripping away part of the plate leaving a ruined mess behind. His arm was covered in masses of scars left by burning metal and shrapnel. His left leg was not much better. He was lucky he had still been able to use his arm and walk. It had taken months of physiotherapy to get him able to walk and move his arm again.

Her touch was not tentative, but sure and exploratory. He opened his eye and looked at her. She touched the left side of his face, rubbing her thumb over the scarred tissue. Her feathered wings brushed his side. He reached out and touched a wing. He realized then, that he was not the only one whose body had changed.

Goddess was now residing in a body that was technically not even hers. He looked at her in shock. He grabbed at a feather, but realized that it was not really a feather, they looked like feathers, but each individual feather was made up of shadows.

"Did Darkness have wings?" He found himself asking.

"No. It did not understand what it meant to fly. It had the Midnight Cloak, which was basically a tiny piece of darkness It carried around. I remembered what it was like to fly. I willed the Midnight Cloak to be something I understood." She said searching his face.

"Darkness didn't have ears either did It?" He asked remembering that she was technically Darkness now.

"Human ears which It did not know how to use." she said.

"And It didn't have a tail."

"No." She shook her head. "Ryn still lives on within my soul. My body reflects this." She said softly.

He pulled off her over robe, pulling the silky material from her wings. He wanted to touch her soft velvety skin again. It had been so long he ached with the need of it. He stopped as his hands went for the hakama skirt. She was supposed to be with Donatello. He closed his eye as he tried to control himself.

"No I'm not." She said to him gently.

He looked at her in surprise.

"Do you know why you smell so good to me?" She asked him. "Do you know why I smell so good to you?" He shook his head. He remembered her asking him why he smelled so good to her, when he was alive.

"It is because you are mine and I am yours. Your soul rings for me." She said softly.

"I don't understand." He said in confusion.

"There is not a word for what you are to me, but the closest term that would fit would be, soul mate." She said as she wrapped her arms around his neck and pulled him forward kissing him with a need that rivalled his own. He wouldn't have been able to pull away then. No force would ever have made him relinquish the embrace he held her in. He was shocked by her words and at the same time he knew she spoke true. She was his and he was hers.

He felt her hands on the waistband of his pants. She tugged, the pants pooling to the floor.

She pulled away from his kiss and looked down. "Briefs?" She questioned.

He looked down at himself. "Well it isn't as if I had a choice. The other Darkness, seemed to like Its slaves to wear briefs, it's all that was in the dresser I was given."

She was intently studying his briefs. "I think I can see why." She said with a seductive smile as she ran her hands over his hardened length.

He grabbed the ties of her hakama skirt and undid them. The skirt fell to the ground in a black heap. He grabbed the sides of the kimono. "I like this colour on you." He growled. "This isn't the first time I have seen you in blue." He said remembering her 'human' outfit she had worn the one day she had gone shopping as a human.

"I like the colour blue." She whispered. "But of course, green is my favourite colour." She said bringing him in for another passionate kiss.

He pulled away and concentrated on the task of removing the rest of her clothing. He unwrapped the fabric band from around her waist, the kimono falling open revealing opalescent, pale, perfect flesh. He drew a line down her stomach with his finger. Her skin began to glow. He pushed the fabric over her shoulders. She dropped her wings so the kimono slid to the floor unhindered.

She stood naked before him, the black butterfly emblazoned just above her breasts. He kissed her again and then turned her around. He pushed her hair out of the way as he traced a line down the center of her back. She still had black skin between her feathered wings, but she no longer had scales. He continued down until his hand brushed against long, soft, black fur. Her tail twitched. She now had a fluffy kitty cat tail to match her kitty cat ears.

He spun her back around and picked her up in his arms. "You're not disappointed that I'm no longer part reptile?" She asked, face buried in his neck.

"You could never disappoint me." He said hoarsely as he lay her down on his bed. He stood and gazed down at her. His eye roved over her as he memorized every single detail of her body.

"Are you going to come to bed, or are you just going to stare at me?" She asked as she pulled back the covers she was laying on. "Underwear, off." She ordered.

He gave a half smile, obeyed her request and slid under the covers. He rolled onto her and looked into her eyes. "Please tell me I'm not dreaming." He whispered as he stroked her cheek.

"Touch me and find out." She said as she pulled him into a kiss. He kissed her as if he was never going to kiss her again. He kissed her with all of the love and lust and need he had thought died the day she had. It roared over him as he broke away to explore her body.

She clutched him tightly, not allowing him to move. "As much as I want you to do what you are planning, I'm going to have to stop you."

Leonardo stopped and looked at her with surprise and dawning realization. "We don't have time." He said softly.

She looked at him with half closed, lust filled eyes. "I am Darkness, the dark will last however long I wish it to." She pulled him in close, putting her lips up by his ear. "It is more, I need to feel you inside me, now." She growled at him.

He shifted himself to the side and with his finger, traced a line down her side, over her belly and stopped at her hip, drawing small circles. "On one condition." He said looking at her. She raised an eyebrow. "You never, ever, call me Leo again."

She smiled. "As you wish...Leonardo." She said silkily.

He spread her legs, found her hot center and plunged into her. She gasped as he clutched at her, the pleasure was like nothing he thought possible. He felt something burning at his heart. He felt, _her_. Every sensation, every feeling, every thought was heightened. She brought his face down and kissed him long and deep. "Okay." She whispered as he realized her gasp had been a mixture of pain and pleasure. His mind raced. She was a virgin, which meant he was her first. No other man would ever be her first. Possessiveness rolled strong and hard through him.

He clenched his teeth in the effort as he tried not to move. Somewhere he had heard something about the first time hurting for women because something had to break. "Leonardo." She pleaded as she rocked her hips. He clutched at her as he began a slow steady rhythm. Pleasure began building with each stroke and he knew he was not going to be able to last as the rhythm became faster, more urgent, more desperate. Sweat had begun to trickle down his side, his breath coming in short breaths. Her muscles clenched around him as she moaned his name. He gave one final thrust and moaned as his own pleasure crashed through him like a never ending wave.

He pulled himself out of her and rolled, pulling her into him in a fierce hug. His heart was racing, his skin was tingling, and he was trying to catch his breath.

"I love you." He said tipping her head up and kissing her.

She laughed. "You're supposed to tell me that _before _the sex, not after. Anything after is called pillow talk."

"Well then perhaps think of it as me saying it _before_ then next time." He said with a devilish grin.

She laughed softly. "I love you too Leonardo."

"Gods I love the sound of my name of your lips." He said hugging her close.

"I know." She said simply.

A thought struck him. He pulled away and searched her face. "You played me." He said to her.

"Like a finely tuned instrument." She said, not denying his accusation.

He closed his eye. "You knew exactly what to do and what to say to make me stay."

"The decision was yours and yours alone Leonardo. But I had a pretty good idea of what buttons to stomp on if you proved to be overly stubborn." She said as she stroked the ruined side of his face lovingly.

"I was never going to walk out that door was I?"

"I was betting 50-50, I increased the odds to 70-30 for you staying when I didn't do what I wanted to do."

"Oh and what did you want to do?" He asked twirling a piece of her hair around his finger.

"March up to you, punch you in the face, and tell you you were being an idiot." She said tracing his scars with her finger.

He chuckled softly. "That may have worked as well."

"No it wouldn't have." She said softly. Darkness began to leak into her eyes.

"Hey." He said in panic as he rolled her on top of him. He took her face in his hands and stroked her cheeks.

"I almost lost you." She said closing her eyes.

He wrapped her in his arms. "I'm sorry I'm such an idiot." He said to her.

Her eyes opened, revealing luminous moss green eyes. She brushed her velvet soft cheek against his ruined one. "Make it up to me." She whispered.

"How?" He asked softly.

"Make love to me."

"We just did that." He said to her as he felt himself stir.

"No, we had sex. Now I want you to make love to me." She slid herself down his now hardened length. "Now." She demanded.

And so he did.


	31. Chapter 31

Okay all final chapter is up and ready to go! =) Hope you have all enjoyed ,please read and reveiw!

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Chapter 31

Raphael felt the leather cave beneath his fist. The bag swung away from him and swung back. He grabbed it, halting its progress. He had pulled his arms out of the top of the kimono so now it was hanging from his waist. He was drenched in sweat and breathing hard.

"You okay Raph?" Michelangelo asked him touching his shoulder. Raphael flinched back in response.

He glared at his baby brother, who was now older than he was. "Fine." He growled in frustration.

"If you can't share Raph, you had better bow out now before you end up Goddess' Consort." Michelangelo said, arms crossed over his chest.

"You'd like that, wouldn't you Mikey." Raphael snarled as he hit the bag again.

"Hey I'm just saying, if you can't stand the heat, get out of the fire." He said with a shrug.

"I can take the heat Mikey." He punched the bag again.

"Well if you're going to be with Goddess, you'd better clean up a little, you stink." He said as he walked away waving his hand in front of his beak.

Raphael looked down at his sweat drenched body. He smelled himself and realized Michelangelo was right. He glared at his brother's retreating back, gave the bag one final punch and headed down the elevator. He made his way to his room and wondered where he could get a shower. He passed the passage that led to Goddess' bedchamber. The secret door was open and he could see down the passage to the set of closed double doors at the end.

He wondered how long Donatello and Goddess were going to be, then growled in jealous anger at the mental picture of his younger brother with his goddess. Former younger brother. That thought pissed him off even more.

He stomped into his room and slammed the door hard behind him. He looked around the tastefully decorated room that had as much personality as a nice hotel room, and felt anger roar through him.

He strode to the four pollster bed and violently stripped it of its black comforter and sheets. He ripped apart the golden, black and cream coloured pillows that had decorated the bed. Feathers exploded from the torn fabric. He threw the pillows against the wall. He lashed out and kicked one of the bed posts breaking it in half. He grabbed the post breaking it the rest of the way off, hefted it like a baseball bat, and smashed it against the mirror that hung over the dresser. He then used his makeshift bat to trash the dresser, nightstand, and wardrobe. He panted with exertion. He threw the post away as he surveyed the damage to the room.

"Shit." He said as he kicked the post across the room. He looked at the door behind him. He opened it revealing a bathroom with sink and overlarge shower.

He stomped over to the sink and ran the water. He cupped his hands, watched the water fill them and splashed it on his face. He turned the taps off and looked at the destruction of the room through the door. He kicked the door closed.

He looked around the bathroom that was done in more black, gold and cream. He grabbed a cream coloured towel from the shelf behind the door, stripped, marched into the shower, and turned the tap. He felt the water hit his tense body and roll down his skin. He wished the water could wash away all of his fears, doubts and worry, but more importantly, his jealous rage. But he knew it couldn't. He washed himself clean and stood staring at the water as it gently swirled down the drain.

He felt a hand touch his shoulder. He spun and lashed out a hard punch. His fist was caught in a small delicate hand that was stronger than steel. He hadn't even noticed the glass door opening.

"Sleeping in the shower tonight Raphael?" She asked ignoring the fact that he had just tried to punch her. He looked over her shoulder to the open bathroom door and the destruction of his room.

He closed his eyes and tried to calm his anger. He felt her release his hand and step towards him.

He opened his eyes and they roved over her naked flesh. Her pale alabaster skin glowed, her eyes luminous. He reached out and traced the black butterfly emblazoned upon her chest. She stepped into the stream of water, tiny droplets trickled down caressing her flesh. He watched in fascination as one single drop rolled over her collarbone, along the outside of her breast, and down her belly to be lost within the patch of hair between her legs.

Raphael grabbed her, pushed her against the black tile, and kissed her with all of his anger, need, and love. He pulled her up, arms encircling his neck, her legs wrapping around his hips. He plunged himself deep into her as he let out a shout of pleasure at her surprised gasp. Heat blossomed on his chest. He felt her, felt her love, her lust, her need for him as he plunged himself deep into her again and again. He did not let up with his furious rhythm. Faster and faster he thrust himself into her until finally wave after wave of pleasure crashed through him as he spilt his pleasure into her.

He leaned his forehead against the cool tile of the shower, clutching her to him fiercely.

"I'm sorry." He apologized softly. "I'm so sorry." Shame burned through him. He had had the chance to finally touch, caress, and make love with the woman he loved, the woman he thought he had lost forever, but instead, he had attacked her like an angry, savage animal. He had taken but he hadn't given back. He had wanted to possess and control. He wanted to control her, have power over her, because he had had no control over anything these past seven years.

He felt Goddess unwrap her legs and slide down. She was silent. He waited for her to yell at him, waited for her to softly tell him it was okay. But she said neither, just stood pressed against him as he trapped her between his body and the cold shower wall.

He broke then, her silence made him break. He had been angry and jealous, but underneath all of that anger, all of that jealousy, was pain. He had tried to be strong. Had tried to be strong for himself, at first, then for his brothers, but no matter how many times he told himself he was fine, he wasn't. No matter how many times he told his brothers he was fine, he wasn't fine. He knew things could have been worse, so, so much worse, but the horror of what he endured in The Pit, the fear, the pain, it paralyzed him. The worry he felt for his brothers, devastated him. He couldn't handle it, and he couldn't bear it.

He didn't know when the wracking sobs began, but he knew when he could no longer stand, he felt it when it was she that supported his weight and not the other way around. She held him tightly, but never once told him it was going to be okay, never once offered him any false assurances, just held him as his body betrayed him, and he could no longer contain his grief, his fear or his pain.

Finally his sobs died down. He pulled away slightly to look into her face. He was expecting, and feared, sympathy, or pity, within her moss green eyes, instead her tear filled eyes only showed understanding. Absolute and complete understanding, because she had been there. She had experienced everything he had gone through, plus more. He closed his eyes as he realized he wasn't in it alone. She was here with him.

He was going to have to share her, it wasn't going to be easy, and he was going to get jealous, but when she was with him, it was only him she was with. No one else mattered but him and her in the moments they would share.

"I think I may give you a mulligan on this one." Goddess whispered softly in his ear. He tried to smile, but couldn't quite do it.

"Does it ever go away?" He asked softly.

"No."

"How did you do it, how do you do it?" He asked, looking into her luminous green eyes.

"One day at a time. It never goes away, but it gets better, and you lean on those you love when you need to. We are in this together Raphael. In everything that will ever be, we will always be in it together." She said to him softly.

He closed his eyes and nodded. One day at a time. He could work with that. He reached over and turned off the water.

"You were with Leo before this, weren't you?" He asked her. He wasn't sure why he wanted to know, and he wasn't sure how he knew, but he did.

"Yes." She answered simply.

"He was being an idiot, wasn't he." It was more a statement than a question.

"Yes."

"Did you hit him?" He asked.

"No, but the thought did cross my mind." She said with a smile.

"Can I hit him later?"

"Yes." She said surprising him slightly.

He smiled then and laughed. He knew things were going to be okay. They wouldn't always be perfect, and it wasn't always going to be easy, but it was going to be okay.

He swung her up into his arms, then he remembered his room. He had completely trashed it. He looked through the doorway into the room beyond. There was not a thing out of place. He put her down and walked to the door peering out into the room beyond. The bed was again whole, the mirror no longer laying in a hundred broken pieces.

"What the...?" He asked in shock.

"My magic castle, my rules." She said with an impish grin. She gave him a quick kiss and dove into the bed knocking pillows everywhere. She laughed with the sheer joy of it.

He laughed and followed her example. He leapt on top of her and pushed her into the soft mattress.

"I love you." He said as he stroked her face gently.

She looked at him seriously. "One thing Raphael." She said softly.

He looked at her, a slight wave of fear flowing through him at the seriousness of her voice.

She held up a closed fist. He looked at it in confusion wondering if she was going to hit him. Instead she opened it, a strip of red fabric unrolling from her hand. "I don't ever want to see you wear that black mask again."

He looked at the red mask in her hand. He took it from her and fingered the fabric. He gave her a lopsided smile and nodded.

"I love you too, Raphael" She said as she brought him down to kiss her.

Michelangelo turned off the TV when Raphael left. He knew he could talk a good game, but he knew he would be dealing with Goddess, or he supposed Darkness, and she was not easy to fool. Hell he would bet she was impossible to fool. He was worried that Raphael's comment may have made her think less of him somehow.

The TV had not distracted him and he was getting restless. He was still not as jealous as his two brothers were, but he found jealousy raging through him anyway. He had gotten older, and had dated other women. He had not been confined to the idea that Darkness was the only woman that he could ever be with. But he found that she was the only woman he had _wanted_ to be with.

He walked over to the kitchen and shuffled around through the cupboards looking for something to snack on. He found chips and there was pop and beer in the fridge. He bypassed the beer which was tempting, but went for the pop instead. He also didn't feel much like chips. He managed to scrounge up some popcorn and began munching on it while he perused the DVD and game selection. His eyes narrowed slightly as he opened a DVD case and found a chip inside instead of a disk. Granted he knew that DVD's were old technology when he was alive, but he had never seen anything like this.

He walked over to the player and pressed the open button. A door opened and he placed the chip inside. The movie began to play. He walked to the couch and plopped himself down to wait. He wondered how long Darkness would take with his brothers, regretted even thinking the thought, and dug angrily into his popcorn.

"You were supposed to be one of the easy ones." A voice said from over his shoulder.

"I am easy." He said looking over at Darkness who was kneeling down arms on the back of the couch.

"So I've heard." She said wryly.

He wanted to kick himself then. "It's not..." He began.

"Michelangelo how long did you live after I was killed?" She asked standing. She was wearing her black over robe tied loosely with a purple tie.

"Twelve years." He said to her.

She nodded. "I cannot expect that you would never have been with anyone else for twelve years Michelangelo. Twelve years is a long time to be alone." She said to him.

Michelangelo sighed. "I know. But all I ever really wanted was you. Once a woman decided to move the relationship to a more physical level, I would bail. I just couldn't bear the thought of just having sex for the sake of having sex. Which sounds so much less manly when I say it out loud." He grimaced.

Darkness threw back her head and laughed. He grinned at her. He looked at the bowl of popcorn in his hands and offered her some. He figured now that she wasn't in her vampire body anymore, she could eat if she wanted to.

She looked at the popcorn with a disgusted look on her face. She shook her head.

"Too long on a liquid diet?" He asked her.

"Something like that." She said looking darkly at the bowl of popcorn.

His eyes narrowed as he looked at her. "You're still vampiric." He said in shock. "How are you still vampiric?"

She sighed. "My body was killed, so my soul should not reflect either my Were side or the vampire side. However when I broke apart my soul I shoved some of it into the beasts which created Ryn. The hunger of a vampire is its own beast. When I realized that I had both a Were's hunger for flesh and blood as well as a vampire's hunger for blood. I pushed the vampire Hunger into Ryn, thus suppressing the Were's need for flesh. That is why Ryn was not strong enough to maintain her form for long and turn my need for blood into flesh that one night."

"But unlike my vampire body, I do not _need_ to drink blood, even if I lose blood, but I _can_ drink it, and I still cannot eat solid food." She said with a shrug, but her face turned serious. "But...I can still feel it. The more I remember what it was like to be Goddess, the more the part of me that remembers her, Hungers. A Beast is buried within my soul, and it is banging against a cage to get out. It wants blood and flesh a violence." She said softly. She shook herself and looked at him willing him to chnage the subject.

He put the bowl of popcorn aside. "You know that I am jealous huh?" He asked.

"Yes, I knew when you answered that you were not okay with me not choosing you as a Consort. You've grown up a lot Michelangelo. Of all your brothers I think it is you who have changed the most."

Michelangelo snorted. "Well, Raph didn't really have much time to grow up." Darkness raised her eyebrow. "He only lived five years after you were killed."

She quirked her mouth to the side in a smile. "So that is why Leonardo feels so old."

"Humph, it is because we are old. Well older than you anyway. And Leo'd be 7 years older than Raph, so yah. I mean, I feel like a perv right now just wanting you. You're like 11 years younger than me."

"I suppose." She said with a shrug.

"So Leo was trying to do the honourable thing was he?" He asked.

"Yes."

"Figures. Probably didn't want you to have to look at his mug everyday for the rest of eternity either."

"True."

"So Leo's got honour issues, Raph is mentally broken, Donny's mentally...probably still broken, I don't know, he's been acting a little more himself since he and Raph had their little chat...Huh, I guess that really does make me the easy one. Even if I am still a little more jealous." He said with a slight smile. He lost his smile and looked at her seriously. "Are they going to be okay?" He asked her.

She smiled. "Leonardo is getting better, Raphael will heal in time, and Donatello has almost recovered."

He nodded. "So where is Donny now?" He asked.

She closed her eyes."Wandering the Castle." She said to him. She opened her eyes.

Michelangelo chuckled standing quickly and hauling her down onto the couch.

He blinked as he realized he hadn't landed on the couch but rather a very plush bed done in greens and blues and blacks.

"Um..." He said stupidly.

"This is better, much more room." She said spreading her wings wide above him.

She smiled and pulled his mask off. She tied a new mask over his eyes.

"Much better." She said as the orange ties hung over his shoulder.

He pulled her down to him. "I've missed you." He said softly.

"Just shut up and kiss me Michelangelo." She ordered.

He laughed and kissed her passionately.

Donatello walked into Goddess' bedroom. No he should think of her as Darkness now. He wasn't expecting her to be there, but he had also lost track of the amount of time he had spent perusing the Castle. He could understand Raphael's horror when he had visited. It was a horrible, frightening place, and yet at the same time, he understood Darkness' need to keep it as it is, rather than get rid of everything that made it horrifyingly gruesome.

He walked past the bed and up to the second dais where the great stone tub was sunken into the floor. Darkness sat within the tub. Chunks of ice floated around in the water. Darkness wore her elaborate headdress and nothing else.

Donatello dipped his hand into the frigid water. Darkness looked at him, but didn't really. He reached out and pulled the headdress from her head.

She opened her eyes and looked at him with eyes that held the universe within their depths. The darkness receded and she looked at him with moss green eyes.

He put the headdress to the side and lifted her out. She wasn't cold enough to freeze him solid, but she was cold. She put her arms around his neck and sighed. She began to grow warmer.

"It is hard for you isn't it." Donatello asked.

He put her down, but she did not let go of his neck. He put his arms around her and pulled her tightly against him.

"Yes. I have been locked in nothingness for so long. Here it is bright and noisy, but touch, touch I still crave. I sometimes feelas if I could drift back into darkness." She said softly. "I don't want to drift into darkness."

"You won't. We won't let you, and if you try, we will just call you back. I will never let you go into the darkness alone again. I promise." He clutched at her more tightly. "I gave up on you." He said voice cracking slightly. "Raph, never gave up on you, but I did."

"You thought you were giving me peace Donatello. I wanted peace. How could you have known that I was already fighting against other Darkness?" She said as she put her hands under his shirt and began pulling it over his head. She looked at the scars that criss-crossed his arms, his cheeks and any exposed flesh he had. She ran her fingers lightly over the scars. She pulled his pants down and she ran her fingers lightly over the scars on his legs. He had felt ashamed before, now all he felt was calm. He felt as if he had been a ship at sea, thrown around, smashed against devastating shoals and rocky reefs, but had finally come home. His scars were a testament to the pain and suffering he had endured, and he realized he shouldn't be ashamed of what he had done. He was just glad that he no longer felt the need to hurt himself.

She stood up and he wrapped her in a warm embrace. "I finally feel like I am home." He whispered to her.

"That is because you are." She said as she brushed the side of his face with her fingers. "Please Donatello." She said to him.

He swung her up in his arms and lay her gently on the bed. He looked at her and wondered how he was ever going to be able to do what she wanted him to. His tastes he knew now, would run more to the perverse.

"Wanting pain mixed with pleasure is nothing to be ashamed of Donatello." She said as she pulled him into her. "It just means our lovemaking will never be...vanilla." She said with a soft laugh. "And it will be you. I know it will be you who will be the one to control the Beast that rages within me." She said. Her body began to glow, her eyes luminous in their intensity. She took his face between her hands, pulled him down and bit hard into his neck.

He hadn't been expecting that, hadn't been prepared for his body to react like it did. Pain blossomed at his throat as he went hard. A soft wave of pleasure radiated out from the pain. He pulled her leg up and he slid inside of her to a torrent of pleasurable sensations. Heat bloomed over his heart. Her body arced off the bed, as she pulled her bloodstained lips away from his neck.

"Oh Goddess." He moaned as he began a furious rhythm. He kissed her roughly grabbing her arms and holding them above her head in a rough hold. He knew he wasn't being gentle, didn't know if he had it in him to be gentle. He would try, but not right now. She broke from his hold as she raked nails down his arms drawing blood. He shuddered at the pain and pleasure of the sensation. She roughly flipped him over pinning him to the bed, arms held down in a grip of steel. She went for his neck again as she bit hard, her fangs penetrating through soft delicate flesh. He moaned his pleasure then as she moaned his name through bloodstained lips.

Darkness looked at the men she had assembled in her bed. They all slept soundly. She smiled lightly and crawled between Leonardo and Raphael. She spread her wings over all of them. Dawn was coming, and she was tired. She knew she didn't need to actually sleep, but decided to give into the sensation anyway.

She let out a contented sigh, buried herself beneath the covers.

"Mikey you're snoring." Raphael grumbled as he hit his brother.

Darkness laughed silently, closed her eyes, and slept.

Raphael opened his eyes. The last thing he had remembered was Goddess leaving his room. But he wasn't in his room, not anymore. His body was snuggled into Goddess who was laying partially on her side, partially on her stomach. Leonardo was on her other side an arm thrown over her waist. He looked past Leonardo and saw Donatello. Donatello was laying on his stomach by the edge of the bed, one arm hanging over the edge. He looked over his shoulder to where Michelangelo was laying on his stomach snoring softly. They were all piled on Goddess' bed. He thought he would feel awkward, but instead he felt comfortable. It helped that everyone seemed to be wearing silk jammy bottoms in their respective colours. Well all except Goddess who was naked.

His brothers began to wake. Goddess groaned. "So no morning sex Darkness." Michelangelo asked shoving Raphael down into the pillows.

"Not unless you want a ménage cinq Michelangelo. Ménage trios I could handle, but at it stands, there are way too many men." Grumbled Goddess pulling the covers over her head.

He looked at his brothers in shock. "Don't look at each other like that, it will happen eventually," She said as she opened the covers. "But not now." She looked at the light streaming in the window. "It's still light out." She groaned pulling the covers over her head again.

"Daytime Darkness." Michelangelo said, being the first to recover from Goddess' statement that one day they would have sex with her at the same time. He felt a lot uncomfortable with that idea.

"See the problem with that statement. I am Darkness. It's too early." Came the mumbled reply from the covers.

"I thought gods didn't need to sleep." Michelangelo said poking the goddess' curled up form.

"We don't, but I am enjoying sleep. Sleep feels nice."

Michelangelo laughed and then all laughter left his face. "Leo," Michelangelo said in shock.

Raphael turned to look at his brother. Leonardo was lying flat on his back. None of them were wearing shirts so his chest was exposed.

"Yeah I know, I'm a mess." He said closing his eye.

Goddess sat up and looked at Leonardo. She traced the black double crescent moon interlaced with a white star that was now emblazoned on his chest. They all now bore the mark, but the damage that had been inflicted on his brother was worse than he imagined.

Goddess touched the scarred tissue of Leonardo's face. "It's better." Michelangelo said in shock. Leonardo's eye flew open. "I mean it's still there but it doesn't look as bad. Your skin doesn't look as...melty."

Leonardo sat up in shock. He felt his face and looked down at his chest where a triangular chunk had been taken out of his plastron, basically scoring him from shoulder to waist. There was also a pretty big slice had been taken out of the shell on his back.

Leonardo looked at Goddess. "It is better." She said softly. "The skin has smoothened. You are still scarred, but the scars look to have aged and faded slightly. Even your skin that was damaged by a piece of your plastron being ripped off is smooth. She said touching the skin where his plastron plate should have been.

Leonardo climbed over Donatello and walked to the mirror by the bed. He looked at himself. He turned back to the bed where Goddess had pulled Donatello to her and had snuggled into him.

"Did you know this was going to happen?" Leonardo asked softly.

"No." Goddess answered. "I had no idea what would happen when you all became gods." She said with a yawn as she buried her head into the covers. Raphael was looking at Donatello's neck which showed distinct bite marks as well as deep scratch marks down his arms and sides. But Raphael's head snapped up and he looked at Goddess.

"What do you mean gods?" He managed to ask.

"You are all the Consorts of, well let us call me, a god of gods. Therefore you are gods." She said in a muffled voice.

"So we can still call you Goddess?" Raphael asked her as he tried to wrap his head around the idea of being a god.

He heard her sigh. "I'm not really a goddess Raphael. There is no word for what I am. I am Darkness."

"Forget that Raph, she's Darkness now. Try it, it feels right to call her Darkness." Michelangelo said waving what Raphael had asked. Michelangelo started jumping up and down on the bed. "What am I a god of, is it something cool, am I awesome, do I have powers now?" He asked vibrating with excitement.

"You are just gods. One day you may become gods of something, but for now you are just my Consorts. As for any powers. You can heal yourselves, you are stronger, faster, better vision, smell, hearing, all that sort of fun stuff, but you are not going to be throwing around lightning bolts if that is what you are asking." She mumbled.

"Hey Darkness, didn't Heaven owe you a favour for defeating the Syna?" He asked curiously.

"Heaven did owe me a favour, but I collected on the favour before I was killed." She said to him. "I put in and was granted a request for a soul transfer." She said with a mischievous smile.

"Soul transfer?" Raphael asked in confusion.

"For one Master Splinter. A transfer from Underworld 2 to Heaven. I figured even though he was one of mine, he would have been happier being with his master, Hamato Yoshi."

"Wait, you're saying you got Master Splinter transferred to Heaven?" Leonardo said in shock.

Goddess...no Darkness curled further into Donatello.

"Mmmhhhm." She mumbled.

"But, then if we had of been sent to Underworld 2 we never would have seen Master Splinter again." Raphael growled.

"If." Darkness said slyly.

Raphael groaned. "Is there anything you don't know?" He asked her.

"I can't predict the future, but I can make a pretty good guess most of the time."

"So...does that mean we can go see Master Splinter?" Michelangelo asked softly.

"Michelangelo you are a god, you can pretty much do whatever you wish, as long as you do not piss anyone off. You are linked to a "goddess" who is linked to Death. You should have no problem visiting anyone you wish in Heaven, or in Hell for that matter as well."

"Even Hell too huh?" He said wondering if Hun made it to Hell. Maybe the bastard was still rotting there, maybe he would pay Lucifer a little visit.

"So you mean we could visit Casey and April too?" Michelangelo asked with excitement.

Darkness frowned. "Well I believe they would still be in Limbo in processing right now. But I am sure if you ask Mon real nice, maybe she will be able to push their paperwork through and maybe even go on the Reaper run to collect and Transfer them."

Darkness closed her eyes again, pulling the covers over her face. Raphael was struck by the fact that he hadn't thought to ask what had ever become of their friends. He looked at Donatello.

"They were happy Raph, well together they were happy. They were worried about me, they were devastated by everyone's death. But they were doing good. They had a daughter named Shadow, and April was the head of a massive company that was looking into new alien technologies to help in the war. They were still alive when I was killed." He said softly.

Darkness pulled the covers back. "Perhaps it may be a good idea if you all went with Mon on the Reaper run." Darkness said softly touching Donatello's face pulling him down to kiss her.

"This is going to be awesome!" Michelangelo said happily. "Can we go now, how 'bout now, now?" He asked bouncing on the bed again.

"Soon Michelangelo." Darkness told him breaking away from her kiss with Donatello.

"Wow it looks like you guys had a good night." A girl's voice observed from the doorway.

Darkness threw back the covers and glared at Mon who was standing in the doorway.

"Fine I'm up." She grumbled as she crawled out of bed. She walked over to Leonardo and gave him a hug. "I suppose Death is here to pick up the souls?" She asked as she pulled away from Leonardo's embrace.

"Yup. Azazel is here too." Mon said happily. "This is like, a better ending than you dying." Mon sniffed happily.

Darkness laughed. "Ending? This is just the beginning." She said with a smile. "Now, there are skeletons to dredge out of the chamber of blood, zombies to lay to rest, and a Seat of Power to restore." Darkness said crossing her arms.

"Yeah, not to mention smoothing over the whole fight between Light and Dark. The gods are freaking out." Mon said to her.

"Ahh yes, the gods." She said with a wicked grin.

"So what are you going to do about the gods?" Mon asked.

She shrugged. "Nothing. After all it is not as if Marwolaeth Yn Annwyl can tell them what happened." She grinned evilly. "The Golden Goddess has come to Darkrealm, and the gods will never know it."

The End

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A/N so I am mulling over a sequal to this fic, but not really sure it could actually be called a sequal, perhaps a fic where the characters from this fic come in about half way through the story. I may post the first chaperter in a few days to see what everyone thinks. Thanks for reading and thank yo to anyone who has reveiwed!


	32. Morning Star: Part 1

Hello all, This is a sneak peak at my new fic. It is stand alone fic, so can be read even if you have not read With Death We Met, or Darkness and Light, However, that said , the characters from both fics will eventually appear in this fic. So it can be considered a sequal but not...

Please enjoy!=)

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Chapter 1

Raphael was panting hard. His blood was roaring through his ears, his heart was pounding in his chest. He had just run flat out for ten blocks and he swore he could still hear the drumming of racing of footsteps behind him.

He had ducked into a dark, reeking, side alley, the night cloaking him from prying eyes. He looked down at his leg and grimaced. He was bleeding pretty bad, his arm wasn't doing so well either. Rage burned through him at the thought of having to retreat. The Red Dragons had been out in full force. He hadn't expected so many. He had decided to blow off some steam, get away from Leonardo's constant lecturing about how irresponsible he was. He closed his eyes in frustrated anger. And now when he got back, Leonardo was going to rip a strip off him for exactly what he had been lecturing him about.

He opened his eyes. He needed to get back to the lair, but he hadn't found the opportunity yet. The Red Dragons just didn't seem to want to give up.

He could hear it then, the running of feet hitting pavement hard. Raphael tried to slow his breathing. "Fine if they want a fight, I'll give them a fight." He growled to himself and hoped it wouldn't be his last.

He clutched his sais tightly in his hands. He listened intently, waiting for just the right moment to strike. His vision wavered. He shook his head trying to clear it. _Had he really lost that much blood?_ He wondered to himself as he heard the footsteps getting nearer. He couldn't tell how many of them there were, the sound echoing off the brick walls. He figured that if they had split up there were at least a few of them.

_Now!_ He thought to himself as he leapt around the corner surprising his pursuers. His eyes widened in surprise as he felt his sai strike and enter soft flesh.

A young woman looked at him in wide eyed surprise. Raphael felt his entire world shift. Her eyes drifted down to where his sai had plunged itself into her flesh. She suddenly slumped to the ground.

Raphael grabbed at her as she fell. He looked at her in shock. He looked over her frantically. "No." He whispered. "No." He whispered in horror as he realized he had just stabbed an innocent bystander.

Raphael felt his world swim and the bile rise in his throat.

He picked her up, his frantic thoughts swirled together into a pinpoint focus of getting back to the lair, getting her to Donatello. He began to run, as he begged her to survive.

"Donny!" Raphael's voice roared. Donatello grimaced. Raphael and Leonardo had been fighting and Raphael had stormed off to do exactly what it was Leonardo was yelling at him for doing in the first place. Leonardo was angry and upset because Raphael was going on solo runs during the night, even though he knew that there had been an increase in Red Dragon gang activity.

He wondered if he could just ignore his older brother. "Donny!" Raphael's voice broke in panic. Donatello dropped his tools. It was unlike Raphael to sound that frightened. Actually Donatello didn't think he had ever heard that level of panic in his brother's voice.

Donatello ran from his workroom and took in the scene before him. Raphael was standing with someone in his arms. Raphael's leg and arm were red with blood.

"Donny...I ...I ...Help." He pleaded.

"What's going on?" Leonardo asked as he emerged from his bedroom.

Raphael ignored Leonardo as he took one wobbly step forward. "I...I...didn't mean..." He stammered.

"What the hell are you doing bringing an injured girl here Raph. Don't you know how dangerous it is. If she's hurt you should have just left her for the humans to look after!" Leonardo yelled at Raphael. "You should have called 911."

"What's going on?" Michelangelo asked sleepily as he emerged from his bedroom.

"Raph what happened?" Donatello asked as he quickly approached his brother. Raphael was covered in blood, some of it his own, most of it not. Donatello checked the woman's pulse. It was weak, but still there. He moved her coat out of the way and that is when he saw his brother's sai sticking out from her left lower abdomen.

"Oh no Raph, what did you do?" Donatello asked in horror."Workroom now!" Donatello said urgently. Raphael managed to get the woman onto the table he used to stitch his brothers up. They managed to wrestle the backpack off of her back so they could lay her down flat. He looked at the girl's wound. He grabbed a pair of scissors and cut away her shirt so he could see the damage. Lower abdomen wounds were often fatal.

Raphael had been smart enough to leave the sai in, which meant that he hadn't made the wound worse, but still. He shook his head. "I don't have the equipment to deal with something like this." He said shaking his head, panic starting to course through him.

He looked at his brother's face which was a mask of agony. "Donny, please try." Raphael begged him. Donatello closed his eyes. Either way she was probably dead. "Leo's right. You should have taken her as close as you could to a hospital Raph." Donatello said quietly. "Or called 911."

"I didn't think I...I panicked." Raphael stammered as Donatello looked at the sai. _It wasn't as if he had any equipment to view the damage caused by the sai. All he could do was hope that she didn't bleed to death._ He thought to himself as he removed the weapon. He put the bloody sai aside.

"Raphael this is exactly what..." Leonardo began, but stopped as Raphael wobbled slightly. His eyes rolled up into his head and he fell to the floor unconscious.

"Damn it!" Donatello swore. Swearing was not something he did often, but he felt it was warranted. He looked over his brother's wounds grimly.

"These are bad Leo." Donatello whispered. "Get a compress, try to stop the bleeding. I'll stitch him up after I try to help her." He said as he turned his attention back to the woman.

Donatello's eyes frantically searched the wound. It had struck far enough to the side that it was possible it had missed her internal organs. He looked again and swore. "He hit her liver." He applied pressure on the wound. There wasn't much he could do outside cutting her open and finding out how bad the trauma to the liver was. If it wasn't that bad, and if the bleeding stopped, she would recover. However if the laceration was bad enough she would just bleed out. Of course even if she didn't die immediately, there was always the possibility of infection. He explained this to Leonardo.

They had put Raphael on a cot that had been set up. He got Michelangelo to apply pressure to the Woman's wound and went to make sure Raphael was going to be okay.

Leonardo looked at him worriedly. "He'll be fine, but he needs to rest, he's lost a lot of blood." Donatello said grimly as he turned towards the woman. All he could do now was stitch her up and hope that she pulled through.

"I don't suppose she is a Red Dragon?" Leonardo asked Donatello hopefully. "Maybe it was self defence?"

Donatello shrugged. He wasn't sure.

"She's got a purse." Michelangelo said pointing to a blood covered green cloth purse that was still slung over her shoulder.

Leonardo grimly looked at the purse and opened it. He pulled out a wallet and shuffled through it.

"Katherine Brooks, age 21, University student from Canada." Leonardo said quietly. He pulled out a ticket. "Went to the American Museum of Natural History this evening." He said quietly putting her wallet back into her purse.

"Leo if she dies..."Donatello began.

"I know Donny." Leonardo whispered bleakly.

Raphael had never killed anyone. None of them had. Donatello knew that it would be inevitable that one day, one of them was going to end up killing someone, either purposely or accidentally. But if the first person Raphael ended up killing was just an innocent woman who happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time...well he didn't know how that would affect his brother.

It had been several hours and Donatello had finally convinced Leonardo to go to bed. Leonardo had wanted to stay up and keep watch, both over the woman, and Raphael, but he had managed to convince him that he could take second watch. Michelangelo had looked worried, but had also shuffled off to bed.

Donatello looked over the woman again. Her breathing was shallow, her skin was pale to the point of being waxy, but she was still alive. It worried him however that she hadn't regained consciousness yet, although Raphael hadn't either.

He sighed and rubbed his eyes. He looked over the woman again. She was pretty he supposed in a human sort of way. Smooth clear skin, a cascade of brownish red hair, defined cheekbones, square jaw, pert nose and light pink cupids bow lips. Her hand twitched. He reached out and took her hand in his. An electric shock of awareness went through him. Her head rolled to the side, her eyes opening slowly. They seemed to focus slightly then she fell into unconsciousness once more. He pulled his hand away slowly. He looked at his hand as if it was somehow not his own. What was that? He wondered to himself. Maybe he was more tired than he thought. He looked down at her again. Her eyes were green, a bright beautiful moss green.

Raphael opened his eyes. He felt like he had been hit by a truck. Memory came rushing back as he sat up quickly in panic. _Was the girl dead, had he killed her?_ He looked around Donatello's workroom which was quiet and empty except for him and the pale woman who was laying next to him on a cot.

He slid from his cot and padded over to the woman. His leg was throbbing and so was his arm, but he ignored the pain as he fell to his knees in front of her.

He tentatively reached out checking for a pulse and wondering where the hell Donatello had went.

He panicked for a second when he couldn't find it, but breathed a sigh of relief as he found the fluttering beat at her wrist. He took her hand in his. Awareness raced through him. He looked at her hand in confusion. He stared down at the woman. Her head turned and she opened her eyes slightly.

"I'm sorry. I'm so, so sorry. It was an accident. I didn't mean it." He whispered to her as he pleaded for her to live, but she had already closed her eyes. He felt his own eyes get heavy as his face fell into sheets that smelled like flowers.

Leonardo walked with Donatello into his workroom. Donatello was exhausted and needed to sleep, but he had wanted to check her one last time before he went to bed. Donatello came to an abrupt halt, Leonardo almost running into him. "What is it Donny?" He asked in confusion as he looked over his brother's shoulder.

Raphael was slumped over the cot that held the woman. He was holding her hand tightly, his other arm was partially under his head.

"Well at least he managed to regain consciousness." Donatello said checking over their brother. "But he's slipped back into unconsciousness." Donatello said softly.

"Help me move him off the floor." Donatello said to him as he attempted to remove Raphael's grip from the woman's. "What's wrong Donny?" He asked as his brother was looking at Raphael and the woman in confusion.

"They're both unconscious, but their hands, I can't get them apart without wrenching them apart and I don't want to do that and risk hurting either of them." Donatello said slowly. "We'll move the cots together."

Donatello grabbed the cot while Leonardo hefted his bulkier brother up and onto the cot. They both lay on their backs hands gripped together in the space between.

"Raph's bleeding again." Donatello said grimly.

Donatello began the task of re-stitching Raphael's wounds and re-wrapping them. Donatello looked grim the entire time. "Is he in danger Donny?" Leonardo asked with worry. "You said he'd be fine."

Donatello let out a breath. "He should have regained consciousness, which he did, obviously briefly, but he should be sleeping, not still unconscious. Maybe he lost more blood than I thought. He just reopened his wounds so of course he just lost more blood. He'll be fine, if he makes it through the night, he'll be fine." Donatello pronounced grimly.

Leonardo looked worriedly at the unconscious forms, hands clasped between them like a lifeline, as if willing the other not to die. He shook his head at the flighty thought.

It was impossible, she hadn't even regained consciousness yet, but when and if she did, it wasn't going to be pretty. There would be the inevitable look of fear, shock and horror, perhaps a little disgust, possible screaming and fainting. Although in her case her feelings would be perfectly justified since Raphael had nearly killed her. And that was only if she didn't die before she regained consciousness. This thought dragged his already heavy heart lower.

Raphael blurrily opened his eyes. There was noise all around him . There were panicked shouts and a noise like the buzzing of electricity. He was clutching something cold in his hand. He slowly sat up and looked at the chaos around him. Donatello was looking frantic as was Leonardo. Michelangelo looked pale, worried, and a little ill.

"Clear!" Donatello yelled. Then there was the sound of a thump.

He was clutching the woman's hand tightly. There was blood everywhere. Donatello was holding the paddles of a machine, what was it called, a defibrillator. The woman's shirt had been ripped open. Leonardo was trying to stop the bleeding from the stab wound he had given her.

Raphael looked at her in horror. She was going to die. She was going to die and it was going to be all his fault. He clutched her hand tighter. "You don't get to die." He growled at her. "You hear me, you don't get to die!"

"Clear!" Donatello said again her body leapt from the table.

Leonardo felt for a pulse. "She's got a pulse!" He said with shock and relief.

Donatello put the paddles back in their slots, looking relieved, but strained and pale.

"I'm not a surgeon Leo. The best we can hope for is her bleeding stops and she doesn't haemorrhage or go into cardiac arrest again either." Donatello looked exhausted.

Donatello met his eyes and they widened in shock.

"Raph?" He asked. "You're awake." He said with surprise.

Raphael nodded. He looked at the small delicate hand in his larger three fingered calloused grasp. He gently lay her hand down at her side.

"How do you feel?" Donatello asked walking over to him.

"Weak, tired." He grumbled. Donatello nodded. "How is she Donny?" He asked.

Donatello paused, closed his eyes, and shook his head. "Not good Raph." He said softly.

Raphael nodded curtly. Sadness and guilt weighed down on him.

"Raph can I talk to you?" Leonardo growled at him. He looked at his older brother. He knew the lecture that was about to begin. He knew his brother was going to yell at him for disobeying him and running off. And for once he knew he deserved every single harsh, reproving, whip like word that was going to come from his brother's mouth.

He looked at his brother, begging him to chew a strip off him because he deserved so much more than just a lecture.

Leonardo studied his face, closed his eyes, then said "Later. Get some rest before you fall over."

Raphael shook his head. "I can't Leo, what if I go to sleep and..and she...then I'll have missed...I...I want to be here, I have to be here when..." His voice broke.

Leonardo nodded in grim understanding.

* * *

Please read and review! and yes I know I called them Red Dragons instead of Purple dragons, that was on purpose.=)


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